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Nice Guy: Episode 6

Feelings become more sincere, at least on one end, which leaves Maru wrestling with his better self and losing while he’s at it. Our star-crossed twisted human beings finally get to hash things out, leaving one thing clear – no one’s going to let go of their grudges any time soon. And if that means leaving a trail of hurt feelings in their wake, then so be it. Surprise surprise, Maru’s not such a nice guy after all.

Ratings are still going up, up, and away, with Episode 6 clocking in at 16.0%. Nice.

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EPISODE 6 RECAP

During a flashback of Maru and Jae-hee’s first meeting, we hear Maru say in voiceover: “To be exact, my dream came true on that day. The one who made my heart flutter at the sound of her name, Jae-hee, was in front of me, smiling at me.”

Flash forward to their college years, and then to Maru writing all of this in a letter. In it, he’d written to Jae-hee how much he would cherish and love her.

And over that same line, we pick back up with Maru and Eun-ki’s kiss… Only Maru opens his eyes to give that soulless look of his, which means this kiss was all a calculated plan on his part. Shame on you, Maru.

“I will never let you feel lonely,” Maru’s love letter to Jae-hee continues. “I won’t ever leave you alone. No matter what, just like now, I will never let go of your hand.” As he says that, we see him and Eun-ki watching the parade as he interlaces his fingers with hers.

“I will always be standing close enough for Noona to reach out to me.”

Somehow, Eun-ki loses Maru in the crowd and runs through the street, terrified at all the foreign sights and sounds assaulting her. Maru stands nearby, watching.

“I promise, my start is Jae-hee Noona. And my end will also be Noona. I promise that.”

She finally spots him across the way, and couldn’t look more relieved. He holds up two drinks innocently, like he’d just meant to be gone for a moment, but Eun-ki just throws her arms around him like he’s the only piece of driftwood keeping her from drowning.

“I wish for Jae-hee Noona to have the same feelings.”

Maru hugs her back with dead eyes staring forward, mentally checked out again. That stare gets scarier every time I see it.

Eun-ki is literally glowing on her ride home from the airport, and can’t help telling Secretary Hyun why there’s such a skip in her step: “It’s because I’m in love. This thing called love, can it make humans helpless and absurd? What was I doing all this time?” My ‘Feel Bad for Eun-ki-O-Meter’ has now been turned up to a ten.

Secretary Hyun keeps her lips sealed, especially since she remembers how much Chairman Seo hated Maru. Eun-ki doesn’t care, and fills the silence with talk of getting a new wardrobe (with more feminine stuff, like dresses and clothes) and learning how to put on makeup. Hah.

She makes Secretary Hyun promise to keep this a secret from Dad, and weirdly enough Secretary Hyun offers her some calming pills for the trials ahead, which Eun-ki rejects on the basis of her being her fly self.

Eun-ki isn’t surprised when she sees Joon-ha standing by a pile of all her packed things. Jae-hee wheels Chairman Seo out so he can give Eun-ki a good talking to, and meekly excuses herself to bathe her son.

Dad is kicking Eun-ki to the curb, and tells Joon-ha to confiscate all her credit cards and keys, and to make sure that no employee gives her even a cent in aid.

Eun-ki’s prepared for all this, but adds: “Perhaps, just maybe, ‘You did well. At least our Eun-ki protected the resort. The resort we were about to sell to con men. The last thing my wife left behind, that resort. My daughter protected it.’ Can you not, just once, know how to praise me like that?”

The answer to that is a big fat no, because of the money lost with the contract. He even claims that Jae-hee stopped him from filing a police report against her.

And while this is going on, Jae-hee and Eun-suk play happily.

Poor Joon-ha tries to mediate the situation as best he can, but it’s a no-go since Dad wants her to apologize and she isn’t apologizing for a thing. Eun-ki: “Saving Aomori Resort was the smartest and greatest thing I have done in my life. If this were to happen again, I would make the same choices.”

Dad orders her thrown out, and Eun-ki chooses to leave with only the clothes on her back. Once she’s gone, Dad grips his chest in pain.

After failed attempts to get Eun-ki’s attention by calling her “Director”, Joon-ha switches to the informal and adorable “Eun-ki-ya.” He tries to give her a credit card, not as an employee of Taesan but “as Park Joon-ha, the Oppa who has known you for a long time.” Aww.

Regardless, Eun-ki doesn’t want to cheat, and hands over her wallet after removing the cash. Joon-ha asks if she’s really going to leave like this, but Eun-ki recognizes that she doesn’t have a choice after causing such a big loss.

She asks him to take care of her father before heading off, all while Jae-hee smiles and praises her son for being the best.

Eun-ki hikes up to Maru’s house, but hesitates at his door. In the yard, Jae-gil is intent on dancing away his Yoo-ra related sorrows, leaving Choco to answer the door.

She recognizes Eun-ki from the time she picked her up with Maru, and tells her Maru’s work address when she asks.

As for Maru, he’s tending his bar while standing face to face with Jae-hee. She’s reserved the whole club so that her and Maru can be alone, and Maru doesn’t look too happy about it.

There’s a strange moment when Jae-hee asks him to stop playing around with Eun-ki, because she already makes Eun-ki’s life miserable and there’s no need for him to add more to her suffering. So… is she protecting her?

Maru serves her drink with reluctance and tells her to go home. Jae-hee: “When I said I will go back to you, I was being sincere. I also couldn’t forget someone like Kang Maru.”

This seems to get Maru’s attention, but they’re interrupted when Jae-gil sends Maru a warning text that Eun-ki is on her way, giving him time to get rid of any girls he’s with. It’s why Jae-gil chose to take Eun-ki via cab instead of just giving her Maru’s address, adhering to the Bros Before Hoes rule.

Maru gives Eun-ki a call, but leaves her on speakerphone so he can look Jae-hee dead in the eyes while he tells Eun-ki, “I thought I was going to die missing you.” This… is just wrong, on so many levels.

He even tells Eun-ki that he prepared a room at his house, knowing she’d get kicked out. “In my room, come live with me,” he tells her, all while taking pleasure in watching Jae-hee squirm.

But before she hangs up, Eun-ki nervously ekes out: “I love you.” When he doesn’t answer right away, she says it louder: “I love you!”

Jae-hee looks like someone just killed her family and ate her sandwich, while Maru just smiles darkly at Jae-hee as he replies, “Me too. I love you, Seo Eun-ki.”

Something does seem to be going on with Jae-hee protecting Eun-ki, since she tells Maru that Eun-ki sounds 100% sincere. “Using a pathetic girl who knows nothing, how are you going to be able to live with this later?”

To that, Maru asks if she’s sure he’s 100% false. “To an innocent, intelligent, beautiful, bright, and lovable girl on top of that… Does it seem like I’m 100% false?”

Personal opinion? Yeah, Maru. It kinda does.

Jae-gil acts like a Nervous Nancy the whole drive over, I guess not trusting Maru even though he just called Eun-ki.

To Maru’s credit, he is trying to kick Jae-hee out but she turns on him and asks, “‘Let’s just destroy ourselves together.’ Do you want to do that, Maru?”

And instead of giving him time to react, she grabs him in a kiss instead. That certainly gets his attention.

Jae-hee votes that they kiss when Eun-ki comes, that way she’ll learn everything about who’s using her and why in one fell swoop. Jae-hee: “Let’s destroy ourselves together, Kang Maru.”

Just when it seems like Maru is wiping Jae-hee’s cooties from his lips, he does a one-eighty an traps her against the column with a rough kiss, one that’s got her wanting out. He manages to snap a photo of their locked lips with his phone before pulling away, wiping his lips after.

He doesn’t think Jae-hee knows what “destruction” really is, and shows her the picture on his phone with a smirk: “Destruction is done like this, Han Jae-hee.”

Outside the bar, Eun-ki gets a text of a different set of locked lips – Jae-hee and Min-young’s illicit kiss. She dials Joon-ha.

Jae-hee thinks Maru’s lost it, but he asks her how a person with nothing to lose could win against someone with a lot to lose. That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?

“Didn’t you say you would come for me? Didn’t you say you would drag me down? No matter how high you go, you can’t have me.” And just like that, Jae-hee changes up the power dynamics in her favor, with Maru hanging on her every word.

Even though the depths to which she’ll sink may be bottomless, Maru still plans to bring her down (or up, if we’re going with this metaphor). Now knowing that he has no plans to stop, Jae-hee announces that she doesn’t plan on stepping down, either.

Jae-hee: “What can we do but go all the way? Let’s go as far as we can.”

But Maru can’t hide his concern when he sees Jae-hee stumble in pain. Either this is all part of the show, or Jae-hee’s sick. (And not just in the head.)

Min-young comes to pick her up, and when asked about her health, Jae-hee simply replies that her hip gives her trouble once in a while. She speaks frankly with him about his greed, and tells him to just take advantage of her instead of liking her. It’ll be easier for him that way.

Jae-gil is surprised to find Maru alone in the bar, and guesses something fishy went on with Jae-hee. Either way, he tells Maru that Eun-ki had to leave urgently and that he wants Maru to be his friend and help him get over his breakup.

There’s only one coffee shop in all of Seoul, and that’s where Eun-ki storms in to demand answers from Joon-ha.

Turns out he sent the picture to her just as an incentive to take a deal made with her father on how to return to the company. With her dad’s health waning, if she wants to stop Jae-hee, she has to be reinstated. Eun-ki registers all this while trembling in rage.

Chairman Seo calls Min-young to set up Jae-hee’s phone as a tracking device, so he can know where she is at all times. He’s grappling with chest pain in a half-empty bed, yet Min-young still lies to him about Jae-hee’s current whereabouts.

And when he tries to get Jae-hee off the hook, Chairman Seo reminds him that he still doesn’t trust women. Jae-hee, enjoy your last day as a free woman.

While Jae-gil gets thoroughly wasted, Maru remembers how Jae-hee originally hurt her hip – her father had mercilessly beat her to take her money, but since Maru had given it to her, she protected it with her life.

He swigs half a bottle of soju at the memory, and ignores Eun-ki’s calls.

She’s already moving fast on her reinstatement deal, which depends on her ability to negotiate with the protesters who’d previously egged her. She has Joon-ha there as a notary, and gives the Protest Head a challenge.

If he can beat her in a drinking contest, she’ll listen to his requests. Likewise, if she wins, he has to listen to her. They’ve got one crate of soju bottles and the whole night. Game on.

Choco comes to the bar to find Jae-gil passed out on the floor and Maru sleeping in his chair. She feels responsible for the whole Yoo-ra thing, and tries to make it up to Jae-gil by interpreting his drunken gibberish to mean “Maru’s watch.”

She doesn’t think twice about taking Maru’s watch and giving it to him, ha. Then she literally drags him out of the bar, leaving Maru to take care of himself.

The drinking contest begins, with two bottles of soju per bowl. Even if Eun-ki is a drinking champion, there’s just no way she can escape alcohol poisoning on this one. I love that Joon-ha’s facial expression sends such a clear message: This is a terrible idea.

She excuses herself for a moment and a concerned Joon-ha follows, but she reveals it as a tactic to get the ajusshis to take pity on her because she’s cute.

I like that she wants to solve this union strike without resorting to methods her father would use, like hiring professionals to beat those on strike. She knows her dad has given her a nearly impossible task.

So she lets Joon-ha in on her new grand plan… to run away before the ajusshis notice. Haha. But, she’s gone by the time Joon-ha brings the car around.

Meanwhile, Maru wakes up to find Jae-gil and his watch gone. Eun-ki calls him as he makes his way home, looking like she’s found her way to his house. When he asks if she drank, she lies that she had one bottle of soju. Whatever helps you sleep at night get your stomach pumped, Eun-ki.

She asks Maru what he’s done to her that has her thinking of him all day, every day. While she’s slurring, Maru follows the sound of her voice and finds her sitting near his house.

Haha. When he kneels in front of her, Eun-ki reels like she’s having this totally rad imagination party, dude. She even pokes him, saying, “It’s 3D!” Win.

Maru’s expression grows serious as he tells her: “It may be something you regret when you look back in time, but just think that you’re having a nightmare. You can wake up from nightmares. As time goes by, you wonder what you dreamt of, not being able to remember anything.” This sounds like a bad case of premature eguiltulation, especially if Maru is still planning on being awful to her in the future.

He takes her to his house to get some rest, and spends a long time just staring at her. He ends up talking to Joon-ha when he calls her phone, and reassures him that he’s caring for Eun-ki as her boyfriend.

Eun-ki wakes up the next morning to find Maru sleeping next to her, and smiles giddily. In contrast, we see Jae-hee wearing a sour expression as she lies next to the sleeping Chairman Seo.

While Joon-ha checks up on the kiss cam footage of Jae-hee and Min-young, he ends up seeing something he missed last time… footage of Maru bringing Eun-ki home. Uh ohhh.

He recognizes him from the picture he’s been using to investigate Jae-hee’s past, which is just bad news bears.

Eun-ki’s there to tell Maru good morning when he wakes up, and she asks about what she said or did the night before: “Did I say I’m crazily in love with you?” Affirmative.

She then asks him if he had a reaction, and he admits to it before trying to change the subject. Eun-ki won’t take her eyes off the prize, and keeps pestering him to tell her what he said, clearly wanting even just one loving word in return.

Meanwhile, Joon-ha is on Maru’s scent as he calls Secretary Hyun to confirm whether Eun-ki’s boyfriend is the Kang Maru.

Eun-ki asks Maru again, and he looks her square in the eyes and tells her that she’s unlucky because she got caught by the wrong man named Kang Maru.

Maru: “Do you want to run away while you can? Get up now, put on your shoes, and run away with all your might. You only have one chance.”

This definitely wasn’t what she was expecting to hear, but she’s so enamored that she thinks he’s joking. When he tells her that she hasn’t given him an answer yet, she asks if it isn’t too late… and kisses him. Omo.

Jae-hee gets treated to a photo shoot in her wedding gown, and I can’t really tell the difference between Min-young’s angry face or Min-young’s placid face.

She’s the perfect picture of a smiling bride, until she answers a phone call from her biological brother. We know he’s a terrible person, but he even sounds skeezy on the phone as he makes his little sister’s eyes go wide with terror.

Maru comes home (presumably from dropping Eun-ki off) to find Choco tending to Jae-gil’s broken face. Jae-hee’s brother, fresh out of prison (I wonder if he and Maru were pals in there?), beat him up to find out where Jae-hee was and stole Maru’s phone to get her number.

It’s worth noting that Jae-gil wanted to keep this a secret from Maru to save his friend from getting involved, only it doesn’t really work out with Choco around.

Meanwhile, Eun-ki meets with the protest ajusshis wearing the same clothes she had on yesterday, and without even a pen to sign the contract. She goes over their stipulations line by line, checking the ones she agrees with.

There’s one stipulation that requires her to pay for their children’s educations, and she agrees to sell everything she owns and take out loans to meet the demand. Joon-ha is not happy about this.

She even agrees to sacrifice her personal salary to reinstate fired workers, which has the Head Ajusshi asking if she’ll be okay.

“Even if I won’t be okay, at most, it’ll just be eliminating me from the family register and disinheriting me,” Eun-ki shrugs. Then she has the nerve to say they should finish early to go drinking. HA. I like her spunk.

Afterward, Joon-ha tries to get her attention while she waits for the bus, but Eun-ki’s too exhausted to think. He hands her an envelope and sends her on her way. That’s the Maru evidence, isn’t it.

A neighborhood ajumma stops her on the way to Maru’s house with an oddly-timed gift, a photo frame for Maru. But Secretary Jo’s presence in the background suggests that this is all part of a plan.

Eun-ki turns the frame over to see a picture of Maru and Jae-hee together at a graduation ceremony.

She looks shocked at the photo, and hides it when Maru pops out of his gate, all smiles for her. She doesn’t smile back.

 
COMMENTS

I love how this show continues to play with our perceptions, since one episode ago I was half-heartedly rooting for Maru while wishing Jae-hee would just disappear, to now seeing Maru as an evil genius and Jae-hee as an almost, allllmost pitiable person.

Writer Lee Kyung-hee has a penchant for creating antiheroes that we can simultaneously scorn and love, an emotional roller coaster not unlike what our heroines end up going through. But as my pity and understanding for Eun-ki grows with each episode, so does my unease with Maru. I want to like him, and I was never really on the Jae-hee/Maru ship, but this episode was a first in that I finally thought that those two should end up together because they deserve each other.

Literally everyone is a victim in this drama, so now we have multiple tiers of victimhood and a sliding scale of douchebaggery. Jae-hee used Maru to get where she is, Maru is using Eun-ki to get where he wants to be, and Eun-ki doesn’t seem to be using anyone, surprisingly. Even Jae-hee could tell from listening to her on the phone that Eun-ki’s feelings for Maru were 100% sincere. Maru argued that he wasn’t being 100% Douche, and while there are shades of grey in that moniker, I think being 50% Douche, or even 25% Douche, is already too much douche for someone like Eun-ki to handle.

It’s almost worse that Maru is so self-aware, especially when he had enough guilt to tell Eun-ki that later on, she’ll look back on this whole thing like a nightmare and eventually forget about it. Why don’t drama characters understand that this never works? Especially with Maru saying these words, the very same Maru who’s embarking on a journey to the ends of the earth based on the memories of a woman he wants to abracadabra Jae-hee back into. Square peg, round hole.

What was the icing on the cake for Maru’s guilt scene was that not only does he know how innocent and trusting Eun-ki really is, he’s had her number one enemy say, to his face, that she’s innocent. And then in the same breath, that enemy tells him that he’s going above and beyond the level of misery she dares to inflict on Eun-ki.

So, if Jae-hee, the freaking mayor of terriblepersonville, asks you how you’re going to sleep at night for what you’re doing to someone, for God’s sake Maru, listen.

But, I guess we wouldn’t really have a drama if he listened. It’s definitely intriguing to watch Maru grapple with his vengeance/guilt, and I’ll be more interested to see whether there’s hope for redemption in his future, or whether he’ll lose himself in his struggle to reconcile his past with the harsher realities of his present.

The thing is, I’m down with the ends (bringing Jae-hee down a couple notches) but not necessarily the means (massacring Eun-ki’s hopes and dreams and shattering what little trust she has left in humanity). Maybe there’s another way to make everyone sad forever without permanently scarring Eun-ki in the process?

 
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Ugh, that first picture is so cute, and Eun Ki is so cute in the scene, but Ma Ru is all doom and gloom and the difference (and irony) just breaks my heart.

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"premature eguiltulation" omg I'm rolling on the floor with laughter. smh.

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Woah. I left the first comment? And I didn't even say thanks? Eep! Thanks so much, HeadsNo2! Another great recap for another fab episode.

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LOL headsno2's recap quote of the day

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LOL. I was actually trying to find the definition.
MOON CHAE WON, you make me question my gender :)

Love you!

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Quote of the century, that was!

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wow. the previews for this ep. got me thinkin maru was falling into jae hee's trap with that kiss.
but i was fist pumpin' when he took that blackmail photo.

Thanks HeadsNo2!

still watching 30 minutes into this episode.

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What was the point of Jae Hee wanting to kiss Maru in front of Eun Ki when she was so shocked when Maru took a picture of them kissing?

Did she not mean what she said? If she didn't mean it, what was the point of that?

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I think her kissing Maru would actually destroy only Maru's and Eun Ki "relationship" (without evidence does father believe in Eun Ki words? very unlikely), while the picture is clear evidence to destroy everything Jae Hee achieved.

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oh sorry, I thought it was just a comment (not a comment in a comment), so I just answered without thinking :)

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Plus she could have been bluffing.

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I think that Jae Hee is really still in love with Maru, in her crazy way. Her kissing him is not really a totally calculated act. Nor is his kiss in return.

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not exactly. Jae Hee is damaged goods in that she always wanted to be loved...she recognized Ma roo as a good catch..that he liked her adored her made her feel good..even back then she never loved him...i think she was in love with the idea of being in love..otherwise she wouldn't have allowed him to take the rap. or after he took the rap, she wouldn't have married chairman douchebag. Anyways...In spite of all I just said...I want a hot love scene btw JaeHee and MaRoo.

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I think JH by all appearances did and does love MR and even though he hates himself, MR is still in love with JH. I like their twisted love story because it has depth and so much energy.

They had plans to marry as we saw with his diary entry and then her keeping his the tuition money. So when she called him for help, it was his fiance calling. Choco does not know everything about their relationship and MR does not divulge his business so freely.

Anyway, she was going to turn herself in. It looked MR was wanting to see if she would when he told her since it was self-dense, it would be okay. Perhaps that was his plea deal as well and why his sentence was five years.

They are crazy.

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@ nesiessi,

"In spite of all I just said…I want a hot love scene btw JaeHee and MaRoo."

Haha...me too, me too!

But, I think JH and MR still love each other very much. It seems their love is written in blood.

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That hard kiss up against the wall had passion in it. If JH had returned that forceful kiss, poor MR would have been a lost to her forever. ;)

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Jae Hee thinks no one is a match for her. But that's her weakness. Because she mistakenly thinks that, she can only react to the one-up-manship that Eun Ki and/or Ma Roo dish out. She plots, thinks she has it in the bag, then she is outsmarted and reacts to that.

When she kissed Ma Roo, regardless of her motive, she thought it would evoke a can't-live-with-you-can't-live-out-you reaction in Ma Roo. Which it might have. But she didn't think about it backfiring. When he turned it on her by taking the kiss one step further and snapping a pic, it suddenly became potential blackmail. She was short sighted~her flaw.

However, I have to say that, in the world of kdramas, no one lands on her nine cat lives feet every time better than Jae Hee.

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can't live without you, that is

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Well said. Kissing Maru was a total power play by Jae Hee, to prove that she still has a hold on him. And I think that, emotionally, she absolutely does. But she underestimated him. It's interesting that the only times she's lost her footing so far have been when Maru and Eun Gi called her bluff (Maru in this scene and Eun Gi when she had Maru arrested on bribery charges). She's so used to using her sexuality/power to get what she wants, that she's blindsided when someone actually calls her out on her bullshit.

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Back in episode 1, Ma Roo handed Jae Hee his life for hers. She didn't ask for that, but she took what he offered and he lost what he gave away. How can that really ever work out? Answer: it can't. Now, years later, there are unspoken, unresolved, and immeasurable ramifications that have left them both a total mess. That's what we get to watch every week. So cool.

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Yeah... off to read.

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thanks for the recap! This episode was mindblowing! And the opening scene was amazing...and creepy..

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same here ... i also find it creepy especially his last sentence, “I promise, my start is Jae-hee Noona. And my end will also be Noona. I promise that.” aaaack! i hope it will not have a tragic ending.

i wonder if Maru is the father of her son ... poor Eun-ki.

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Me to. Cause that look was so cold I think both girls are in for a ride.
Thanks for the recap.

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Wow! What a thought! Is the timing right for the boy to be Maru's son?

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I've been wondering that too. But wouldn't "I only trust women 30%" check it out. Especially if she had the kid only 9 months after the first get together. I will be disappointed with the writer if it turns out that way.

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Hmmm...The 30% trust was enough. He probably should have lowered it to 0%. kkkkkk

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I think the President is JH's father. So I guess ES could be his, but GROSS.

That's why she was in the hotel room getting whatever was in that envelope to "protect" him. And that's why she was an organ doner match.

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I've been saying the child is his, which will make their ending oh so tragic when his parents destroy each other.

Like JH alluded to MR in the bar, "I got this one" so he can take his hands off because she's going all the way.

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@ mskololia

Yeah, I'm on the same ship as the one you're one cuz the child has to be Maru's by the laws of drama-land. If so, I'm already nervous that Jae-hee will die at the end and leave him their son so Maru can live on. Otherwise without JH, how can he?

I also thought the same as your 2nd sentence. She's a woman on a revenge mission and she wants MR out.

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@news, when they read his diary and the way he ended his entry, it will be him with JH by extension of their son in the end. She did feel the same way about him.

This is the love that will restore MR. The child is like a dead ringer for MR and that's why he froze on the plane when he saw him. The drama needs to have these two in the same space and interact....

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I think it's a letter he wrote her, not his diary and I agree, she did/does feel the same way about him too.

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@news,

In the FB shown to us, MR knows JH will do something till the end even if she dies trying so I do expect her to die in the end but the writer has to tell us MR is the father in the end also. What other surprise is there in store for the audience---after all of the damaged caused, he comes to himself and falls madly in love with EG and they live HEA? Ok, if that's what the writer wants.

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@ mskololia

waitaminute...are you speculating that MR will eventually fall in love with EK or it IS going to happen? Ah, don't break my heart already!

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I also loved the "I'll Find Away" song by Rachel Yamagata used in the scene with MR and JH.

JH did find away to see MR everyday in the face of their son.

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@news,

No, I'm prepared to go down with this ship. If the writer wants to give them a shot at happiness, I will only accept that outcome if ES is MR's son. I don't know how they would end up together in the SK society where he has an illegitimate child and is a former gigolo though.

He may fall in love with her "innocence" and whatever else, but I cannot see a white picket fence for them with JH's child always between them.

Sorry...Did not mean to throw you. :(

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At first I thought Maru was the father as well, and then I went with my pleasegodno instinct and decided that there was no way. This got me thinking, what if she slept with the lawyer guy who likes her when she was drunk or something. I refuse to believe its Maru's, but I also don't think its the presidents. Oh the drama! On another note, despite his bastardlyness, Maru is one fine specimen and I think that he needs and deserves someone like Eun-Ki to save him from himself. Someone who genuinely loves him and will never leave him. Despite all he is putting her through at the moment, he has actually never lied to her. Thats something that I noticed in this drama, regardless of his situation he never actually lies to ANYONE. He either tells the truth and they interpret it how they will, or he says nothing. I still feel so much sympathy for him. He gave up everything for the woman he loves and she treated him appallingly, saying he sells his body, etc. In my opinion its time for Eun-Ki to step up and show him what real love is like.

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Maru's told Eun Gi that he loves her repeatedly. That seems like a pretty big lie to me.

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Like men don't say that?

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@mskololia: Sure, men say it (so do women), but I was responding to lostmystuffing's comment that Maru doesn't lie. Yes, he was backed into a corner, but he's no saint. In fact, I'm beginning to see him as more underhanded than Jae Hee.

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it's unlikely his the father his was in jail for murder or manslaughter hasn't he been in the jail longer than the boy has been alive.
wouldn't the chairman check it out anyway seeing how distrustful he is about women

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It is mentioned by Maru's friend that she visited him at prison every week, then every month, then every other month. Kind of hard to hide a pregnancy doing that, especially when she has a bad leg and pregnancy makes you waddle at some point.
The ligaments are softened up by hormones in preparation for delivery I think.

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I am sure some of that bar scene phone conversation with EG was mirroring those he and JH had while he was in prison. He missed seeing her and could not wait for her next visit.

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Yeah, I LOVED that opening scene.

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Thank you!! Off to read the recap first :)

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Maru is so good and yet so bad and yet I love him so much!

This actor is really doing a fantastic job. The first drama I saw him in was Sungkyunkwan Scandal. His light hearted humor and extravagant yet loyal character had me from the start and the little bromance between him and the other guy was hilarious. I really think this role as Maru is really challenging him because of how complex the character is...but like I said, he is definitely surpassing my expectation.

As I attempt to get over my Answer Me 1997 withdrawal, I'm glad Nice Guy is here to distract me :)

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Yeah, Joong Ki was amazing in S Scandal. Even though he had a small-ish part, I walked away from that drama thinking he was hands-down the one to watch out of that cast. He imbued what could've been a throwaway character with such heart, humor, and depth. Truly amazing. He and Seung Gi are my favorite actors of their generation, I think.

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@ rearwindow

Yeah, me too. He was my favorite character in SS. And it's great to see him take on such a different character in this drama.

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My first drama of his was TwDR and his scenes blew me away so he is why I'm here. :)

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Oooh, I haven't watched TwDR yet but I hear he was phenomenal in that!

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thanks for the recaps of this captivating k-drama...SJK & MCW...love them...thanks again :)

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Poor Eunki :(( Run away while you can!
Your lawyer's a nice person.

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Hee I love lawyer Joon Ha.

He was so cute when he told her he is also her oppa. OPPAAAAA!! :D:D

I want to see if she ever finds out he isn't gay..

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Me too! The lawyer is great husband material! He's cute, sweet, smart, and concerned. Forget Maru!

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Was the lawyer supposed to be gay? I somehow missed that.

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He was just pretending in order to draw a boundary between himself and Eun Gi. For whose sake, I'm not sure.

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@ Annie: Wait... were we told he was just pretending? Or is that just a popular theory? Or a spoiler?

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Betsy, we weren't explicitly told so I guess there is a small chance that he really is gay. The directing and acting really seem to suggest that he has some romantic inclination towards Eun Gi.

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Ah, okay, thanks for answering, Annie. :) I worried I'd missed something.

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@Betsy. He is not gay. Lols, official character charts states he has a one-side love for EG. :)

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@kgirl: Oh, that's probably why everyone's talking as if his not being gay is an already given thing despite that opening conversation. I was wondering why it seemed to go beyond speculation/hope. Thanks for answering. :)

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Every time I read the title of this drama, I automatically go "Nice Guy(s)...finish last, that's why i'll treat you like trash..." Lol

Anyway, it was difficult to watch Eun Ki fall so hard and know Ma Ru has an ulterior motive. But I think that will change soon seeing some of his reactions to her in this ep. It may be reversed, even.

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omgthankgod

I thought I was the only one having the song play in my head.

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Thank you... so much... for singing the YTF song and getting it stuck in my head. You kind of rock for that.

It's going to be hard watching Ma Ru sink as low as he is promising to do. I'm not sure I'll be able to find him redeemable enough for Eun Ki.

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HAHAHA oh my goodness, me too!

And it totally suits this drama, lol..

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SO GOOD... it hurts my heart every episode but i can't stay away! I don't think I can wait till next Wednesday!

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i've been watchin with a heavy heart as I see Maru’s expression became darker and darker….. owh how this drama kept me on the edge of my chair…. I love SJK character but at the same time hate him as Maru….or should I say love him as Maru….. Huarghhh now I’m in conflict…. But really he’s done a good job potraying Maru….. Hurm…. Just wish that Maru will really fall in love with Eun-Ki…. Pity her….

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Maru will eventually fall for Eun Ki but by then she'll realize that he's been using her (don't you think?).

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on the same token.... i love the Lawyer... i don't think he is a gay after all.... just pretendin.... hahahaha...

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He looked really hurt after talking to maru on the phone. Bb needs some lovin.

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i absolutely love him.
he obviously genuinely cares about eun-gi, calling himself oppa that looks after he and what not. squeel.
sometimes i wish they can just run away together and make cute babies and just leave behind all the twisted-ness that comes along w. maru and jae hee.
Of course, that would mean there would be no story

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I like the way you think. Who needs a story when Eun Ki can be happy?

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Agree with you,
Who need when eungi not happy.haha
at first I want maru-eungi to run away n hve a happy family,but after this episode I want eungi ang junha please.
maru and jaehee suit eachother,let them together,I don't want maru for eungi.

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It can be one of those dramas where the romantic lead switches half way through.

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oh yeah. and i was going to flip when he dropped to banmal and called her eun-ki-ya

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I'm with you. I'm not sure I'll be able to take it if Eun Gi ends up the sacrificial lamb in all this misplaced vengeance. At this point, I'm fine with Maru and Jae Hee digging their own graves. Just please let Eun Gi get out in one piece!

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Oh boy! We r only 6 eps in and the heartbreak vibes have started to creep in already, this ain't gonna be good...where's my kleenex at?!!

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LOLOL kleeenex~

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I'm still wondering if the writers are still going to use the story line of EK getting amnesia. I'm kind of hoping that they scrap that idea. I feel soooo sorry for EK and the heartbreak she'll have to face in next week's episode after finding out about KM and JH past relationship.

I've also been fangirling over SJK this whole time, but lately I find myself more and more attracted to Joon Ha. He is Hot! The previews for next week's episode looks really promising!! I'm so addicted to this show and to Arang <3

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Totally on board with you.
I hope lee kyung hee changes her mind about eun-gi having amnesia.
because as of now, i cannot see how her having amnesia would do the story any good. and i don't think execution would be good, either.
I was just oogling over joon-ha earlier too. flawless face.

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flawless indeed:)

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I really like this drama, I honestly don't know why I find melos to be my crack. (; I just have one small problem though... I think it's a personal thing but I feel that Jae Hee recovers from conplete shocked to complete bitch too fast. I mean, one moment she's scared out of her pants and the next she's cool as a cucumber, manipulating people perfectly... Uhmmm well I guess I would want her to be at least faltering sort of when she's manipulating after Maru scares the crap out of her but she's like 180 degree turn, bitchface after. I think it's just me though... sorry if I make absolutely no sense...

I love this drama though, Song Joongki's character makes me always on the edge, looks can be sooooo deceiving......

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I really could settle in for Eun Ki and Lawyer Joonha. Maru could run off with Jae Hee into this whole string of revenge for all I care. Eun-ha couple lol. Maru-ah, take your obsessed Jae Hee noona elsewhere~ I want my Eun-ha. /heart/

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OH AND I FOUND MOAR BTS

MOON CHAE WON IS SO CUTE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc5t0QIe-9g&feature=g-all-u

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why sho cute MCW?!

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OOooooh I am shipping these two so hard!

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f************ck.

i am just going to shut the frak up and stop speculating. i give up. i surrender to this ride that is Nice Guy.

still, the eternal optimist, i can't help but hope that our little Kang Ga Ru's not as willing to destroy his soul over Jae Hee's betrayals and supposed dissent into evilbad as he asserts that he is.

Choco, you just might have a shot at being his unintentional saving grace before he completely mindf*cks and permanently damages our wounded-but-tough-as-nails-sharp-as-razors, angry-at-the-world EunGi.

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It's official.
I like Jaehee character the most. She is the most interesting and mysterious one. No one knows what is in her head ( and heart) unlike Maru and EG.
Jaehee and Maru deserve each other and I ship them (EG is too perfect for me when I love the gray and realer characters)

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Yay am not alone! She is my fave character too! And I ship her with Maru.

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OMO !!! Me too.. Jae Hee is daebak !! I hope she will ends up with Maru.

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Even though Jae-hee looks vulnerable on the outside, she's made of steel on the inside which is one of the reasons why I like her character the most. And it totally makes sense considering the way she grew up - a victim of abuse and poverty.

She's the perfect foil to Eun-ki who acts strong outwardly but is really very vulnerable.

Please more scenes of Jae-hee!

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Me 5!!! Jae Hee-Maru shipper.

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When the writer torpedoes our vessel, lets not forget the life preservers ladies....

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Ah, so many times in this episode I just wanted to reach out into the screen and yell at Eun Gi to run for her life, away from Maru and his obsession with Jae Hee. He is living in a hell of his own doing and I'm sorry but I really can't sympathize with his character, much as I LOVE Joong Ki.

So, even if I know its utterly hopeless, I'm on Team Lawyer Park. For once, I want the smart, caring, and dependable guy who's always there for her to win in the end. Maru and Jae Hee deserve each other and they can both self-destruct to the bottomless depths, for all I care.

Of course, since we are in K-dramaville, that will probably never happen but I really can't root for a hero who gave up on his dreams, left a sick sister, went to jail for a crime he didn't commit, and STILL hasn't learned his lesson, INSTEAD he insists on taking a twisted revenge plan that does not make sense and uses an innocent and fragile girl in the process. Its like Maru has this superhero complex, he believes he can take Jae Hee away from her own hell, but he doesn't listen to her when she says she wants to stay in that hell. Argh, this drama. Not good for my blood pressure!

Thanks for the recap, HeadsNo2! :D

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You can only hate passionately that which you have loved passionately. Or something. >___>

Either way, my heart breaks into pieces for Eun-ki already. *sob*

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Ahhh true that. Those 2, they totally deserve each other. I don't see how I'm gonna be rooting for Maru x Eun Ki.
Anyways, the acting here is awesome except for the ultimate filler roles of Jae Gil and Choco. Remind me again what purpose those 2 serve to the plot?

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they're there as fillers :D hehehe I skip their scene sometimes 'cuz it's just ....

but I want to know more about Jae Gil's family...it has some kind of depth on it and I want to know more :D

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I think Jae Gil is like the opposite of Jae Hee. Jae Hee is doing whatever she can not to go back to the poor life she used to live, even if it means she needs to manipulate and be evil and all that stuff. Jae Gil voluntarily fled from his chaebol life because he didn't agree with his father's methods. It's pretty much the opposite. I hope he'll get more depth instead of just being comic relief ~
Besides, I think Jae Gil and Choco are supposed to be Maru's voice(s) of reason... But that doesn't seem to be working out very well.

Apart from any use in the plot, I bet all the Running Man fans are excited to see LKS acting together with SJK.

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@neener and @D
Yeah exactly... agree with the voice of reason and interesting runaway chaebol part. It ain't being hashed out pretty well for now though. Hopefully they get some meatier parts in the later parts.

And oh!! I was so excited when I heard that SJK and LKS were casted together! As friends no less! :D

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I really like your take on Jae Gil!

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Thanks for this. Exactly why I can't like maru's character at the moment. Why can't he leave jae hee alone, the girl earned her way up and is just fighting for her and her son's security in the only way she knows how - desperately. But I'm pretty sure maru eventually makes us root for him and eun ki, and i look forward to how theyre going to do that. And I love lawyer park.

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Oh, I'm only rooting for MR's well being in the end, but I think the cost to others in the drama will be heavy.

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He was going to leave her alone. That's important to remember. Even though the show is about vengeance, it didn't open with MR hating JH.

Just like JH goads EK and made EK into a worse enemy than she might have been otherwise, she couldn't leave poor MR alone.

Like he said in EP 5, she couldn't just leave him with a few good memories, she had to destroy everything. TWICE she's let MR take the fall for her crap and put his sister's health at risk while doing it.

Heck, even JK acknowledged it when she told her lawyer-toy that she was still trampling over MR.

It's not like JH did anything good to earn her way up. She targeted a rich man and became his mistress. She torments his daughter. And they haven't come right out and said it (I'm only up to this EP), but it's obvious that she was already working on this plan at the time of the murder. So all that bullshit about how she couldn't claim self defense because it will ruin her career? Just another con.

And there's a shit-ton of levels of security that she can attain for her child without doing all she's doing. It's not like the only 2 options are president or pauper.

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So, even if I know its utterly hopeless, I’m on Team Lawyer Park. For once, I want the smart, caring, and dependable guy who’s always there for her to win in the end.

THIS EXACTLY!!!!!!! I shipped them anyway, and shipped them harder after learning what a cold bastard Maru is, but there's still a chance for redemption with him.

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Dd'awwww eunki darling, you deserve a hug!

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that one scene reminds me of A Love To Kill

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Such such suuuucccchhhh a good episode! I really dislike Ma Ru right now, but I want to like him, for Eun Ki's sake and for the sake of my poor shipper heart. His being so self aware does suck, because it means he's consciously choosing to screw Eun Ki over. Each time he does something to her he's choosing again, and again, and again, like stabbing someone over and over. And his whole telling her to leave him thing is such a cop out; he's being so cryptic that she has no idea what he means, and it in no way justifies what he has already done to her or what he's planning to do.

As for Jae Hee, I didn't really read her telling Ma Ru to leave Eun Ki alone as her protecting Eun Ki. I read it as her doing some much needed damage control. She knows Ma Ru is using Eun Ki to get to her, and if she can dissuade her from doing that then it's one less tool he's got to hurt her with. But maybe I didn't get the full measure of her words because of some subtlety that was lost in the translation?

And Eun Ki. Oh, Eun Ki. So cute, so ballsy, so happy to have someone love her and so willing to love in return. I love her so much. You know, I'd be perfectly happy if she and Joon Ha got together and screwed everyone else in this drama over.

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i loved this episode too but aghhhh i'm beginning to get frustrated at maru's constant back-and-forth with jae hee. I know obviously with their relationship and past you can't get over someone just like that. And i know if he showed no feelings for her he'd be the ultimate cold bad guy. BUT, the fact that eun-gi is part of this twisted little game just totally breaks my heart considering i LOVE her.
And DOUBLE agree with you on eun-gi's cuteness/badassery in this episode. Especially with the alcohol bet with the ahjussis? her solution: flee!
haha. and i mentioned above that she and joon-ha should just run away and make cute babies.

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ME. TOO. I actually found myself more aggravated with Maru in the past two episodes than I was with Jae Hee. For all Jae Hee's (many, MANY) faults, I get the sense that she is at least aware of her goal and honest with herself about what it will take to attain it. Maru, on the other hand, is fooling himself into thinking that he's getting revenge on Jae Hee when he's really just following her around like an abused puppy.

An abused puppy that takes its aggression out on a smaller, more innocent puppy instead of directing it towards its abuser, that is.

That was a bit of a convoluted analogy, but there ya go.

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I didn't read that as JH protecting EG either - I read it as her trying to get MR to leave EG alone because she's jealous. Very simple: she doesn't want MR anywhere near EG (who is younger, more innocent, sweet, pretty, single and rich) so she's trying to "guilt" him into leaving her alone. And I think MR pissed her off by telling her he's NOT using EG. (even if we can see he is)

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I agree with you. Jae Hee is the kind of woman who wants everything,which explains why she kissed Maru after hearing his exchange with Eun Ki over the speaker phone. Of course she has no intention of getting caught (which explains her shock when Maru took a snapshot of their kiss), but she probably just wanted to see Maru rattled and speechless by kissing him?

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Maru and Jae Hee are two peas in a pod. Both obsessive and I'm starting to think insane
I'm thinking that they don't exactly want to end up together but don't want give up the other to other people; toxic obsessive selfish crazy insane partnership. Does that make sense?

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Maru and Jae-hee ARE two peas in a pod...but the dark and tragic version of 'The Princess Bride".

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Absolutely. Remember how Jae Hee asked Maru to meet her after she heard that Maru was meeting Eun Ki for a date. I really hate her character and hope she is taken down by her husband.

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I totally agree with your thoughts on Jae Hee. The closer Maru is to Jae Hee's family/the Chairman, the more dangerous he is to her and the more precarious her situation becomes.

I am always hesitant to read any emotion into Jae Hee, because she's so two-faced and manipulative that it's impossible to discern her "true" feelings. The truth is, Jae Hee could be feeling all of these things (pity, shame, love for Maru, guilt, etc.) or she could be feeling none of them, but it ultimately doesn't matter because she ALWAYS acts in her own self-interest. Whatever her "end game" is (many people are speculating any number of things--from securing her son's place in Chairman Seo's proverbial kingdom to toppling the kingdom and stomping on the remains), Jae Hee has proven herself ruthlessly dedicated to pursuing it to the end.

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I'm seriously loving this drama, though it'll bring me so much heartache and tears in the future, I'm sure.

There's just a few things I want to mention for this episode.

About the point of Jae-hee being almost nice, I have to totally disagree. To me, it didn't look like Jae-hee was being thoughtful of Eun-ki's situation at all; I don't think she ever had any sympathy. I think, despite her knowing that she made Maru this way (cold, hell bent on revenge, etc.), she still feels like he should belong to her, or at least he should still be only obsessed with her (which he is, honestly). So I think it's a woman's pride that's speaking when she says that she doesn't want Maru to fool around with Eun-ki -- she just can't stand them being together, no matter how fake it is on Maru's part.

Secondly, I think in that flashback, it was Jae-hee's brother who's beating her, not her dad, and it's the purse she was trying to protect, which Maru gave her. ^^;; (Not really important though.)

And lastly, I just want to say, for some reason, I think my favourite scene in this whole episode was of the one of Eun-ki waking up and the parallel comparison with Jae-hee. Eun-ki sleeps together with Maru in his run-down little room, and she stares at him like he's the most precious person in the whole world; on the other hand, Jae-hee's in her luxurious bed with a rich and powerful man, yet she turns her back on him. Just lovely.

Thanks so much for the recap, Heads! Can't wait for next week. (:

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Not gonna lie, I was cackling in delight during that wake up scene. Eun Ki's waking up to Ma Ru's face, and Jae Hee is literally sleeping in the bed she made (well, a servant probably made it, but you know what I mean), with Mr. Cranky Pants Misogynist. Ugh I hate him.

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From a different perspective, I'd have to say that Jae-hee is sincere about her concern for Eun-ki. Sure, Jae-hee isn't doing her any good either, but their relationship is a matter of revenge and survival, not a matter of the heart. On the other hand, Maru is going to cause some serious emotional and psychological damage. How will Eun-ki ever recover?

I really like Jae-hee. It's easy to read her even if her motivations are still shrouded in mystery. When she's a bitch, she's a bitch; when she's sincere, she's sincere; when she's vulnerable, she's vulnerable; when she's manipulative, she's manipulative. Black and white. She has a goal so either step aside or get trampled.

Eun-ki is bitchy bitchy, bitchy nice, bitchy sincere, bitchy cool, bitchy etc.

Maru is just crazy...that's why we love him.

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MTE!!! Took the words out of my mouth. She was being sincere.

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Wow, we have totally different readings of the characters.

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I agree. I don't think Jae Hee has a sincere bone in her body. All her actions point to her wanting to take everything away from Eun Ki, and her not wanting Maru to "use" Eun Ki really meant she did not want Eun Ki to have Maru. If she really cared for Maru at all, she would not have jumped in the water to desperately bring him back. I think she has a personality disorder from being abused as a child.

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Actually, i'd have to agree with you ladida.
I didn't think Jae-hee was being protective of Eun-Gi in that moment.
I agreed with everything you said about how eliminating eun-gi from his life would be one less tool that maru can use against jae-hee.
Plus, being the kind of manipulating control freak, i'd imagine she doesn't want anyone sharing maru, the "warmest place in the world" even though she's willing to throw him to the wolves just to get what she wants.
Someone like that warrants no protective instinct over those close to her, let alone Eun-gi. Maybe her son is an exception.
When it comes down to it, i think her "protective act" is all part of her master plan to appear more human all the while knowing she is benefiting from it. Plus, if she puts eun-gi at a level much lower than theirs, then she's able to reserve the last bit of their"special" relationship since she's practically isolating eun-gi from their level. This way, maru won't have the eyes for anyone but Jae-hee.

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I'm mostly with ladida and ilikemangos on this one.

I personally think Jae Hee was playing Maru like a fiddle when she mentioned Eun Gi's well being. Not realizing how significantly she's broken Maru & how far gone he is, JH tried to appeal to his sense of guilt in order to distance Maru from the Seo family and protect her position. Not to mention the side-bonus of eliminating competition for ownership of Maru's heart (because I don't think Jae Hee has any interest in actually being with Maru).

That said, I honestly don't think it matters whether Jae Hee was being sincere or not. Because regardless of what she's *feeling*, Jae Hee has proven time and time again that she will act in her own self interest, period. For all I know, she was and is concerned for Eun Gi's well-being. I'm sure she was devastated at sending Maru to jail for a crime she committed. She very well may still be in love with Maru. But at the end of the day, she is able to completely disassociate her emotions from her actions, which makes her both terrifying and a masterful tactician.

Her blind spot, I think, is that she fails to account for the fact that other people do not operate as she does. Maru, for example, is letting his emotions towards Jae Hee basically steer his life off a cliff, in spite of all rationality. In fact, they're basically foils of each other in terms of how they approach life. This is why she was so flabbergasted that Maru wouldn't just accept her bribe and go off and make a life for himself. Because in her world, no emotion would justify making an irrational decision to destroy one's life in the pursuit of something as tenuous as "love."

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@rearwindow: "That said, I honestly don’t think it matters whether Jae Hee was being sincere or not. Because regardless of what she’s *feeling*, Jae Hee has proven time and time again that she will act in her own self interest, period."

Ooh, this is such a good sum-up of Jea-hee, rearwindow! She feels what she feels, but she can get over it to protect her position or advance. Which is what makes her so terrifying and interesting.

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I do think Jae Hee was being sincere when she was worrying about using Eun Gi, but not for Eun Gi's sake but for Maru's.

Even though I don't think she'd ever go back to her old life with him, I'm still pretty sure somehow she still cares for him and doesn't want him to completely destroy /himself/ (and erm, take her down in the process).

I guess that makes her similar to Maru. They both have a single obsession and nothing's going to stop them, but that doesn't mean they don't feel guilty.

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I dislike Jae-hee, but I also find that she was sincere in her concern for Eun-ki. It's not like Jae-hee is a complete sociopath who doesn't understand what she is doing is wrong. I think for the most part, she knows the difference between good and bad, but to her, survival is more important. Having Eun-ki heartbroken by some guy isn't relevant to her survival, so she's stepping in to say "what you are doing is wrong and watch it".

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At the beginning we see and understand that if EG gains power, she will keep her promise declared to JH early on and that is to do to her what she did to her mother.

I don't even know what JH did to Eg's mother? It's ambiguous and very misleading of the writer.

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@news: "...but their relationship is a matter of revenge and survival, not a matter of the heart."

Hmm, I'm not sure about that. Yes, from Jea-hee's perspective she's not got anything against Eun-gi personally. She's just an obstacle, an annoyance.

But for Eun-gi? Jee-hee has managed to make two protective figures in Eun-gi's life utterly betray her. Eun-gi's father has (from Eun-gi's perspective) betrayed her for Jea-hee. And the lawyer guy -- who Eun-gi identified as at least an uncle-figure if not a second father-figure -- has literally betrayed Eun-gi for Jea-hee.

For Jea-hee she's just trying to get into a new and safer life (or at least stay there). But for Eun-gi, she's trying to keep her world from being destroyed. So for Eun-gi it's absolutely about the heart. She could survive outside of her family (she's got the diplomas and smarts), but she'd be orphaned because of Jea-hee's actions. And that's not impersonal. (That Jea-hee was trying to symbolically kill Eun-gi's mother -- and knew she was doing it -- drove that home for me.)

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"That Jea-hee was trying to symbolically kill Eun-gi’s mother — and knew she was doing it — drove that home for me.)

@Betsy Hp, which episode did we see or hear about JH doing this?

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Her mother left four or five years ago and that would make a now 30 EG around 25 back then. And, I get that ppl feel sorry for the character, but I do not at this point.

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@ Betsy Hp

When I say "matters of the heart", I'm talking about the Big "L" - Love.

What you're talking about is revenge and survival which is based on hate and fear respectively. To Jae-hee, Eun-ki is an obstacle - nothing personal. If it were just Jae-hee vs Eun-ki, Eun-ki would use her hatred for Jae-hee drive her to survive. But Maru is using her heart which is basically just going to break her on an emotional and psychological level considering how much she's already fallen for him. In her own words, she's crazily in love with him.

Not only that, but we've never seen Jae-hee directly attack Eun-ki as mskololia said. There has been no concrete evidence, just speculation on our part based on Eun-ki's perspective - what she thinks is the truth. And the same goes for Maru - we can only speculate based on what he thinks is the truth.

That's why I don't understand why there's so much hatred towards Jae-hee. There's a dark and twisted world that only Jae-hee knows about which hasn't been revealed to us yet (i.e. the man she killed in self defense, the Chairman, why Eun-ki's mom left, etc.).

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@mskololia: I'm pretty sure that what Betsy Hp meant by Jae Hee's "symbolically killing" Eun Gi's mother was that Jae Hee basically singlehandedly sold off the Japan property--which was the last connection Eun Gi & the Chairman had to Eun Gi's mom, aside from the bedraggled barbie doll. Interestingly, during the business deal, Jae Hee insisted on Eun Gi calling her "mother," which drove the stake a little further through her heart.

Betsy Hp, correct me if I'm wrong with this interpretation of your comment.

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@rearwindow It wasn't JH's fault that the chairman wanted to sell that place. She was brought in after they discussed it at the meeting where every member of the board apart from EG decided to raise money by selling it. So how is it JH's fault? Shouldn't it be the chairman's fault?

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@ rearwindow / Betsy Hp

Yeah, that's my take on what Betsy Hp meant as well. But JH's motivation wasn't to attack EK; Basically, JH doesn't have a personally vendetta against her. It's just an unfortunate and tragic twist of fate that THAT resort happens to be strongly tied to EK's mother. It could've been any other person, not EK, and the result would've been the same. Whoever is in EK's position will be caught in the crossfire. Yeah, fate's a bitch. Now, if JH were taking revenge on EK for no reason (meaning EK didn't do anything to JH first), then it would be a TOTALLY different story; JH would be a hateful person.

The writer isn't writing JH's character to be THE villain and EK's character to be THE heroine. So at face value, it seems JH is all evil, but she's not. They are both the perfect foil to each other's characters: JH = outwardly vulnerable, inwardly strong; EK = outwardly strong, inwardly vulnerable. It's so DAEBAK!

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@Shiku & news: I totally agree with you that the Chairman is at fault, too. But it's very significant IMO that Lawyer Ahn is the one who suggested selling off that specific property, no? Given that Lawyer Ahn is basically in the pocket of Jae Hee, I just assumed that she was the one behind that move. Especially since, regardless of who ultimately made the decision to sell off the property, she certainly took advantage of Eun Gi's emotional connection to the property in order to assert her power over EG.

News, I don't really see any moral distinction between Jae Hee having a personal vendetta against Eun Gi and Jae Hee systematically pushing her out of the family and the company, which is absolutely what I believe her to be doing. Now, do I think that pushing Eun Gi out of the family is her only goal? No. Do her ends justify her means? I don't know, since the only information we've been given to justify Jae Hee's behavior is her ambition and her desire to have her son inherit the company. Given what we've seen of her history with Maru, I do believe there's gotta be more to her story and will be interested in unraveling that mystery in the episodes to come.

Anyway, more than enough blame to go around, I'd say. :)

News, I love what you say about there being no "one" villain in this show. So far, the Chairman is the closest thing to a Big Bad that we've got. Then again, we know the least about him, which is probably why it's so easy to hate him. I love that all of the characters have or are hinted at having such depth, even the ones we want to strangle (and I have, at various points, wanted to strangle every lead on the show). Who knows where the Chairman's trust issues came from, for example, or what actually went down with Eun Gi's mom. Add to that the fact that so much is shrouded in mystery, and it's even harder to judge.

I don't know that Jae Hee is any better or worse than Maru (or what such value judgments would even accomplish), but I DO know that Eun Gi is basically the only character on the show right now that I unequivocally love (aside from Joon Ha, I suppose, but he's got such a small role that I don't really count him). Because I am rooting for her so much, I tend to hate Jae Hee when she is antagonizing Eun Gi, and now that Maru has gotten under her skin, I am even more leery of him. That's not to say that I don't sympathize with those two (and I actually sympathize more with Jae Hee than with Maru as things stand now), just that the sense of justice is tipped so far away from Eun Gi's favor right now, that as a viewer I hate everything that brings her hardship, haha.

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Wow! Discussion got away from me -- this is awesome! :D

So, the symbolic killing of Eun-gi's mother: Yes, I'm talking about the selling off of the resort. Which Jea-hee underlines her knowledge of by being the one to state that every tree and every room in the resort was hand-picked/designed by Eun-gi's mom. She knew what she was doing. And it was a direct attack -- destroying something Eun-gi had vowed to protect for personal and emotional reasons. Then, as Rearwindow pointed out, Jea-hee twisted the knife by overtly taking over the mother-role.

I do agree with News that Jea-hee isn't doing this for personal reasons. I mean, she wants Eun-gi out of her way (which apparently means destroyed because Eun-gi isn't one to quietly get) and she's using all means at hand to do so, but it's only because Eun-gi stands between her and control of the company.

But it's very personal for Eun-gi. This isn't just a competition for a company. It's Eun-gi's family Jea-hee is taking from her -- the love of her father, the love of her mother, her role as daughter. Which is why Eun-gi is in such a vulnerable emotional state -- screaming and collapsing on the floor in a business meeting and whatnot.

Maru is doing the exact same thing as Jea-hee in that for him it's not personal. Eun-gi is a tool, not someone he actively wants to harm. In fact, unlike Jea-hee, Maru gains nothing from Eun-gi's destruction -- it would be collateral damage. Which... doesn't give him a get-out-of-jail-free card in my opinion. He's still being cold.

But again, Eun-gi is the one getting emotionally hit. Which is worse? Disowned or dumped? It's close enough (especially since it looks like one will follow the other) that I'm not sure it's measurable. At the moment it's a war Jea-hee and Maru are fighting and Eun-gi is bearing the brunt.

And Shiku is right, the chairman is screwing up royally. That his daughter is in so much pain is basically his fault (and it's her pain that's opened her up for Maru's influence). Basically, he's a piss poor dad and that's part of the reason Eun-gi's life is hell at the moment. (He did redeem himself slightly, ever, ever so slightly when he asked the cute lawyer to stay by her side no matter what.)

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@Betsy and rearwindow, regarding Jae Hee taking on a mother position with Eun Ki: remember that conversation we were all having last week about the women on this show and the various ways they are infantilized? Reading over all these comments I realized that it's continuing this week with these two. When Jae Hee calls herself Eun Ki's mom she does so in a commandeering manner. She slaps her, tells her to get in line, then tries to destroy her character by telling people that she's mentally unstable (which is one of the worst things you can say about someone; a ~crazy~ person is immediately delegitimized and dismissed; a great way to take power away from someone is to imply they're crazy). Jae Hee is infantilizing Eun Ki. But Eun Ki is 30 years old; she's a grown ass woman! Jae Hee is only 5 years her senior! And it's a role that the chairman is encouraging her in, too, which is so confusing because he was the one who threw out Eun Ki's dolls in an attempt to have her grow up more quickly to be a better Taesan employee.

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@ rearwindow & Betsy HP

Whoa, this conversation is outta control! :-D At the end of the day, it's not important whether we agree or disagree, but for dialogue purposes, isn't it fun to disagree? ;-) It also makes Wed and Thur come faster! Ppalli wa juseyo!

I initially jumped into this conversation, playing the devil's advocate, because of all the hate being dumped on JH, but along the way, there are some interesting points that have been brought up.

So far I definitely find JH's character to be the most compelling, but that in no way makes me think her actions are forgivable or justifiable. But she isn't the only one who is doing the antagonizing. In fact, if my memory serves me right and correct me if I'm wrong, in every scene with JH and EK, it's always EK who antagonizes JH first. Yes, from EK's perspective, it's very personal (how can it not be?). She has every right to act the way she does, as anyone would, when a stepmother takes the place of a birth mother, but she's basing everything on face value and personal feelings, not actual truths. Did her mother leave BEFORE or AFTER the Chairman and JH got together? As I recall, the Chairman cryptically said her mother ran away b/c she couldn't handle "it". So from the get go, she already hates JH which is a normal human action, but pretty narrow-minded to me. Why blame everything on JH and never on her dad (the Chairman)?

Which is also the case with the resort. It definitely wasn't JH's idea; the Chairman and Lawyer Ahn discussed it first. And because of this, rearwindow and Betsy Hp, both of you brought up a really good point: Is there a moral distinction whether someone has a personal vendetta against someone or not if the result is the same? Which is worse and is it measurable? This is one of those million dollar questions - lots of personal opinions but never a 'right' or 'wrong' answer. From what I've observed, JH is an opportunist, not a mastermind. To be fair, she's as much of a victim as EK and MR are. In this case, analogically speaking, JH should be charged for manslaughter, not murder. I guess, my personal opinion is that manslaughter is the lesser of two evils.

But rearwindow, you've made me understand your point of view (and why many other people are loving EK and therefore 'hating' JH) in your last paragraph. It doesn't matter whether I agree or disagree, which is completely beside the point, but now I totally get where you're coming from.

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@ladida: Brilliant insights, as always! Such an interesting exploration of femininity in this show. Also, I didn't realize that Eun Gi is meant to be 30! And Jae Hee/Maru are supposed to be 35?! Is there some sort of magical fountain of youth that Korea's hiding from the rest of the world?

@news: Thanks for engaging! I love a challenging dialogue, which is why I became so obsessed with the Nice Guy threads so quickly. There's so much to debate, explore, theorize, and so many smart people with which to do all of the above :). I agree that Eun Gi has had a HUGE chip on her shoulder w/r/t Jae Hee since we first saw her. At first, I thought it was over the top, but the more we're learning about Jae Hee, the less I'm certain of that. Who knows how many of Jae Hee's actions towards Eun Gi reflect her playing into the role that Eun Gi has created for her, and how much of it is Eun Gi accurately assessing Jae Hee's hidden agenda.

All that said, I think Eun Gi talks a big game but is far less underhanded than Jae Hee. Which brings up another question: Is it worse to openly antagonize someone, or to treat someone decently on the surface but scheme to bring them to ruin? And how much do words matter/how much power do words have? My instinct is to say that actions are far, far worse than words, but look at the power that the Chairman's words hold over Eun Gi. And Maru's, for that matter.

Interesting stuff!

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@ladida: Are you talking about a discussion in Ep 4 comments? Because I totally missed that and would love to go back for a look-see. I agree Jea-hee totally used her "mother" role to present Eun-gi as a child. Right from the moment Eun-gi entered and she asked the Rollings guy if he knew any men she could introduce Eun-gi to. It was a clever way of delegitimizing Eun-gi as a business-person.

And yes, it was Eun-gi's father who got that ball rolling after that lunch with Maru. (I don't remember if he was similarly dismissive of her during that meeting when he cut her cheek. Maybe that's where it began? When she took the business in a direction he didn't like?)

@news and rearwindow: I've been enjoying the discussion a lot, too! :) I totally agree, news, that Jea-hee isn't a mastermind. At least, not from what I've seen. It's more like she's made a series of choices, each decision made in the moment and made, I think with a feeling of necessity. Which is why she doesn't fit easily into the "villain" mode. In many ways it really has been just about survival for her.

But, as rearwindow said so well, Eun-gi is such a compelling character (for those who find her such, anyway) that we side with her in any conflict.

But! (Again. ;) ) I could see Jea-hee feeling like Eun-gi wouldn't let her and her son be if Eun-gi gained enough control. Eun-gi came out with open aggression against Jea-hee and her son in the first scene with all of them. And while I can see why Eun-gi would behave that way, and can even see a certain honor in being that honest, I can also see where Jea-hee would feel like her survival (and her son's) depended on Jea-hee fully crushing Eun-gi.

And it's that messy conflict that has me so addicted to the show. (And I haven't even brought up Maru who leaves me epically confused by acting incredibly douchy while being played by SJK. ;) )

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@Betsy Hp: I think the specific discussion ladida is referring to happened in the episode 3 recap, starting with comment 35.2.1.2. We do have an (many?) epic discussion(s) in episode 4, though. We need to compile these comments into a book or something, LOL.

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@ rearwindow

Well, if you word the first question that way, the answer is obvious. I prefer, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

I don't like or dislike EK, but I find her annoying: she's naive and her view of the world is overly simplistic; she acts condescending towards others when she lacks (real life) experiences; she's judgmental when she needs to grow up and be more perceptive; she's short-sighted and attacks without knowing who her real enemy is. I think these are all valid reasons why the Chairman is wary to name her Taesan's successor. Sure, people can throw her a pity party and love her like the angel she isn't, but her tantrums are off-putting and as far as I'm concerned, she's just digging her own grave.

Again, I firmly stand behind JH being an opportunist. When life throws her lemons, she catches them and makes lemonade. Them survival skills aren't there for no reason; she came from the slums. So far, in every situation that she's been called a 'bitch', she had always acted upon decisions made for her first by someone else; she was never the instigator (i.e. MR going to jail for her manslaughter, EK trapping her in her own lie, overhearing the Chairman talk about Taesan's successor, the Chairman and Lawyer Ahn choosing her to close the resort deal, Lawyer Ahn taking the blame for not telling JH to stop the signing). She can be ruthless as a means to survive and win, but from my perspective, not sadistic. In that kind of business setting, it's impossible to succeed without having some kind of collateral damage; it's basically a given. Also, with EK continuously antagonizing and provoking JH (and son) from episode 1, why should JH even consider EK's feelings at all when making business dealings? Not to mention that they've each had their moment of acting underhandedly. EK put a spy on JH before announcing that she was going to take revenge on her. So, for all the fist pump that was going on during that scene, if she's going to announce it, announce it at the very beginning, not after she had already secretly spied on JH. After the fact, that just doesn't count anymore. Not to mention, all this happened before the resort dealing. And all of this happened way after EK first saw her father putting his arms around JH, not b/c of an affair, but b/c she just killed someone.

I'd say it's a matter of opinion and perspective when it comes to defining when JH is being sincere or not. I see it when she's being sincere, but I don't hold the popular opinion so not everyone's going think similarly or agree. But just b/c EK is always saying JH's two-faced, doesn't make it the truth. How can I believe EK with all the aforementioned criticism I have of her character?

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@rearwindow: Thanks for the info! I actually went back and read through the ep 4 comments before seeing your reply, so I was able to bone up on the discussions in both eps. Which are awesome -- esp. with the links to yet more discussions! A book would be lovely. ;) (Actually, it's a great way to handle the long wait between eps.)

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I agree with you about the beater being the older brother; it seems to make sense with what we've seen so far of Jae-hee's past. But Heads is right about the money thing.

The oppa asks Jae-hee for the "account" (bank account) for the money (that I'm assuming she made), but she says "It's for Maru" and "It belongs to Maru". She specifically states it's for his school tuition, so I'm assuming she helped him financially with university school fees and such.

It was a scene that made me truly feel bad for Jae-hee and mourn that selfless part of her that she seems to have lost now.

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I agree with you about the beater being the older brother; it seems to make sense with what we've seen so far of Jae-hee's past. But Heads is right about the money thing.

The oppa asks Jae-hee for the "account" (bank account) for the money (that I'm assuming she made), but she says "It's for Maru" and "It belongs to Maru". She specifically states it's for his school tuition, so I'm assuming she helped him financially with university school fees and such.

It was a scene that made me truly feel bad for Jae-hee and mourn that selfless part of her that she seems to have lost now.

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Sorry. I don't even know how I ended up posting twice.

._.

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Part of what I love about this show is no one is absolutely bad. They're all driven by something and Jea-hee is no exception. I think it's really significant she has a son she's protecting. She's not just fighting for herself, which gives her actions a slightly different spin. (Though, I still think she's wrong in that she's hurting people to win.)

Slight digression: Because I find Jea-hee's son significant enough in and of himself -- as a motivator for Jea-hee and a symbol of her humanity -- I hope there isn't a birth-secret tied to him. It's not needed.

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The amnesia is not needed also.

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I... am taking a wait and see on the amnesia storyline. :) I mean, I see plenty for the story to do without it. But if it makes Eun-gi vulnerable enough that Maru starts to feel protective, that adds something to his storyline. Maybe a redemption? (I would love, love, love his arc to include a redemption.)

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Naw, I just think JH knows MR. She thinks he's after her because he's in love with her still--and she's not totally wrong.

But just like MR still sees a bit of the old JH when he looks at her, JH still sees a bit of the old MR. So JH thinks sincere, sweet MR does love someone else, at least a little, and it makes her jealous.

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Dam, our heroine fell for maru so quick, so soon.
One thing's for sure though. she was super adorable this episode.
And someone explain to me how Eun-Gi magically switched into maru's(?) clothes after that drunken "imagination". She was wearing a white sweater and then switched to a blue dress shirt... hmmm. wonder if maru knows anything about this

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Hahahaha. I picked up on that, too! And that its 2 sizes too big for her so it must be Maru's! I wonder if we'd get a flashback of it later, you know Eun Gi poking all over the place and Maru cleaning her up and getting her out of her dirty clothes.

I did glimpse a glimmer of care? remorse? or something soft in his expression while he was wiping her face. I wonder what could have happened if Joon Ha hadn't called. So many things to wonder about in this drama, it makes my head hurt.

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SJK is killing it in this role. I just..omg. WHY ARE YOU SO TALENTED!

There is a part of me that still believes that Maru isnt completely bad. (outside of the part of me that is all NO JOONGKI IS MADE UP OF SUNSHINE AND PUPPIES T_T) The scariest thing is I have no idea where this drama is going, and that is new. Usually we know exactly where we are going to end up from the get-go but with this show,no idea.

I want to befriend Eunki. And give her lots of hugs.

Im kinda digging the hell out of all the actors. Its nice to see a drama so well acted.

And Im totally stockpiling the tissues for this drama since i know there will be tears,

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I am starting to feel that Jae Hee might just be trying to take some kind of revenge with the chairman and Eun gi is just getting caught in the crossfire. Perhaps even chairman Seo suspects it to some degree. Thus he is trying to distance Eun gi from himself and the company, in order to protect her from Jae Hee's wrath. tho it be some twisted way to do it, you could just kick Jae Hee out. then again, I guess he might be scared that Jae Hee will disclose his connection to the murder case from long ago.

At this point, the only character I really care about is Eun gi, so I really wish she could just run away from these batshit crazies. I don't care if Jae Hee and Maru end up together or die together or what not, just leave Eun gi intact, physically AND psychologically.

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"the only character I really care about is Eun gi, so I really wish she could just run away from these batshit crazies. I don’t care if Jae Hee and Maru end up together or die together or what not, just leave Eun gi intact, physically AND psychologically."

AMEN sistuh.

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Can I add an amen? Even better if she ran away with Lawyer Park.

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Lols. It's only been 6/20 eps, SJK character was actually written even crueler, but PD Kim/SJK/Writer Lee made changes to how scenes played out.

There are layers to MR's character, but the ones that resonate with ppl are those intense, cold scenes rather than the subtle, "questionable" expressions.

We have to understand how Kdrama productions work in Korea. SJK and MCW are the darlings of the industry since last year, and their collaboration has been highly anticipated. EunMa isn't just a pairing by the fans, it's been an OTP set by Writer Lee/PD Kim, production companies, management companies, broadcasting station, advertisers, and media. There is lots of expectation for this love line, and with the ratings and fandom, EunMa/ChaeKi is definitely not going to be sidestepped.

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I actually thought I detected some non-icky emotive stuff coming from him in the scene where Eun Ki kisses him. His eyes seem...uncertain? ("Emotive stuff"? Time for me to go to bed.)

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Yes, EG has already opened MR's heart. He is just too determined at this point to think>/i> otherwise...but his feelings are already starting to blossom.

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@Kgrl: Ah, so are we 100% certain that Maru/Eun Gi are the OTP of this show? I was beginning to wonder...

Also, re: Maru's cruelty...I almost wish that Maru were less wishy-washy in his cruelty to Eun Gi. Like Heads mentioned in her recap, the fact that he is aware that what he is doing is horrible makes it somehow harder to take. Like, if Maru were just using Eun Gi to enact straightforward revenge on Jae Hee, then I could at least respect his end goal. As is, what makes the whole thing squicky for me is not that he's using Eun Gi per se, but that he is soooooo clearly still in love with Jae Hee. Ugh.

ps. You were totally right about Eun Gi! Dag nibbit! :P

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@rearwindow: Yes, EunMa is the OTP. If you're aware of how much attention and preparation Writer Lee, SJK, and MCW went into this drama, you'll be much more confident. Joynara @ Soompi gave a great rehash on that in the last few pages, check it out.

Ah, but that is the point. MR needs to be this conflicted. It may be hard for us to accept, but can you imagine how his character, MR, feels now that he's actually starting to care?

Lest you think I was trying to "purify" EG's character, or make her seem like the "innocent" one, I must remind you that EG was the spark that started this "revenge" aka "absolution" path for MR. If she had not tried to call JH's bluff and asked JHa to report the blackmailer to the police...MR could have continued on his way and never entangled himself with JH. To me, EG is also liable to the pain she will inevitably suffer later on.

None of our leads, to me, are completely selfish, innocent, or loving. They are very flawed with shades of grey. I pity all 3 b/c there is goodness in them, just perhaps buried deep under the cacophony of desires and misconstrued dreams.

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> If she had not tried to call JH’s bluff and asked JHa to report the blackmailer to the police…MR could have continued on his way and never entangled himself with JH

Totally true. I had forgotten for a minute. But I really hated her then. She KNEW JH was lying and yet didn't spare a single throwaway whisper of a thought for the innocent person that might end up in jail thanks to the blackmail charge.

Although, in her defense, she might have genuinely thought he was hired to kill her.

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me too amen...right now i'm only looking forward to seeing EG & lawyer Park scenes together. I really hope Eun Gi will soon wake up from her bad dream w/Maru, give him a big slap on his lying face and run away with lawyer Park.

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I really don't think that Jae Hee had any bad intentions towards Eun Ki until she overheard the conversation between Eun Ki and the chairman a couple episodes back.
In the beginning she did look 100% sincere when she worried over Eun Ki's health. It was only afterwards that she realized she could rise up higher in her social status.

I kind of don't understand why she wants to be in charge of Tae San company. She doesn't have the business knowledge required to run such a huge company like Eun Ki does. But I guess that's a whole different can of worms. . .

I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like the episodes are really short. Before I notice it, the episodes already over and I'm watching the previews. Despite not being a huge fan of melodramas, this is this drama has me fully addicted and anticipating the next episode =D

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Yes yes yes! Totally agree. No one in the family knows she overheard that conversation. Before that her position in the family and with respect to Taesan was precarious, and the Chairman (being a misogynist who doesn't rust ANY women ) probably held her at arms length and was just as dismissive of her as Eun Ki. But when she heard the chairman say he would give the company to Eun Seok something in her clicked and she suddenly realized she could have it all. I mean, look at how in this episode the scenes of Eun Ki getting kicked and Eun Seok being given a shower are interwoven.\

And lol, I don't feel the episodes are short, but I do want them to come out faster!

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Nope, no way. I think we're meant to wonder that at first.

At first I thought she might be a decent person who was acting out of fear of EK. I thought that she was trying to keep MR out of it, but wasn't diabolical like EK thought and just didn't know how.

But it's clear there's more to it than that. And, she already knew. She said to her son, "To EK your father called us his other option, to us he said we have a chance."

I don't know if anything's lost in translation, but to me that means they'd spoken about it before. So the overheard conversation wasn't her invite to the ball. She was already dancing before then.

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Somehow Jaehee is beginning to feel like the supposedly evil 'Cinderella sister' when all along she just wanted to toughen up her step sister. But Eun Ki needs no further toughening up now does she? What the hell man?!! arrgghhh...

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first is eguiltulation a word I can't find a definition.

second does anyone know why Eun Ki thinks Joon Ha is gay when he so obviously isn't?

third Eun Ki remains the only one of the main characters I like or pity

fourth if Maru doesn't want Eun Ki can I have her, lol

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e-GUILT-ulation ;)

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In episode 1 it seemed to me like she sensed that he was attracted to her and maybe this is her crazy way of distancing herself from him. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a misunderstanding and if Eun Ki jumped on it so she doesn't have to deal with his feelings. It seemed like she was saying "Remember, you're gay. Don't crush on me, I'm not going to acknowledge it". The lawyer definitely seemed uncomfortable with Eun Ki's assumption, but didn't want to upset her by clearing it up either. With these characters the craziest ideas seem the most plausible to me :D

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First: ejaculation + guilt smashed together. :)

Second: He's apparently identified himself to her as such. In the first ep she said she'd keep that secret for him and he thanked her. Popular opinion has it he's lying (to better stay close to her? I guess?). My unpopular opinion is that he is gay and loves Eun-ki like a sister.

Third: I totally agree that Eun-ki is the innocent here. And Maru best wake up and see that fact before he completely loses himself.

Fourth: Hah! I suspect there's a line. (And Maru best wake up and see that fact. ;) )

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Thanks for the recap, HeadsNo2!

I love the drunk scene. Yes, Maru, you little shit, do look a bit guilty, taking advantage of a girl you know is vulnerable and starved for affection. Eun-ki, you're so cute!

I feel the same way about Maru and Jae-hee as you do now. At the end of episode 5, I hated Jae-hee. Wanted to backhand her and scar her face. And I felt bad for Maru, whose innocence was crushed. I felt sympathy for him when he realized he had ditched Eun-ki and had rushed to look for her. So maybe he does care about her?

But after episode 6, I'm starting to like Jae-hee more and dislike Maru. I think that Jae-hee deserves to move away and have a second chance with some other nice guy - a nice guy who would show her unconditional love and wouldn't go all nuts because the goddess in his life fell from her pedestal. And I think Maru should move to America and get thrown into therapy. I'm still pretty invested in Maru's journey. Will he ever realize that he should just move on?! And what is his plan?! Still want to kick him in the balls in this episode....

Eun-ki should just get with Joon-ha. i didn't pay much attention to him at first. But the part where he referred to himself as her Oppa in this episode got me swooning. And choosing to date him is still a good way to scandalize people (you know, dating the employee/help and all). Eun-ki's the character I care most about, so I really hope she gets a happy ending!

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Oh, and Joon Ha also told the Chairman that he will take a pay cut for Eun Gi...awwww.

My heart literally skipped a beat when he called her "EunGi-yah" and later referred to himself as her oppa. Yes, I will need lots of tissues when this is all over and Joon Ha will be left alone to nurse his broken heart. :(

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Usually i find drunk scenes pretty generic in k-dramas, but this one i found so adorbs with eun-ki's imaginations and what not. And also alot more meaningful because we see Maru speaking metaphorically in his sick ways.
If last week i hated jae-hee, this week, i'm starting to hate maru, only because eun-gi is just falling deeper in love with him and he's just using her in his revenge plan that he isn't even going all out on. I wish to see his pity/love for Jae-Hee decrease over time. We can all just hope.

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Alright. I was already upset that Maru was going to use Eun-Gi for his little revenge game.
BUT the scene with the parade where he intentionally leaves her side and then WATCHES her have a freak-out sesh. Come on. the girl is already damaged enough as it is. Can't blame a girl for having some emotional issues with people leaving/abandoning her.
And that look maru has while she's searching for him? oh. So cold. So calculating.
I'm starting to dislike you more and more, maru.. Redemption will come a long way.

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That part definitely made my blood run code. It was even worse that the cold, calculating kiss. It was a mix of him trying to gauge Eun-ki's feelings for him and him making her feel even more lost and vulnerable without him by her side. He's trying to make her as obsessed with him as he is with Jae-hee.

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Ugh, that was such a messed up scene. I was seething, I was so mad at him. He looked like a real sociopath there. Like asianromance pointed out, it was like he was cultivating this dependency, like a drug habit, and he was reveling in how scared she was. He just stood there and watched and didn't call out or anything, and then when she looked at him he just kind of shrugged as if he was innocent and she was freaking out for no reason. Like she was the one in the wrong. It's the kind of thing people do in abusive relationships: they instigate something and then blame it on the victim and then use it in the future as an example of "hysterics". Ugh ugh ugh. Sometimes I just want Eun Ki to realize the truth and cut a bitch.

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This scene made me rethink the whole stop-Aomori-from-getting-sold scene where Maru got to play hero. He knew Eun-ki would be unable to stop the sale with the information he had given her. He waited for the opportune time - estimating the moment when Eun-ki would be at her wits end- to swoop in with his google search of Rolling. We know Eun-ki wouldn't have been able to save the resort without him and it's awesome he did all the math and homework for her, but why didn't he give her that information earlier? maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

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No, I think you've got it exactly right. He did that on purpose. It was a perfect way to let Jae Hee know he means business while at the same time making Eun Ki see him as this wonderful knight-in-shining-armor type person. where did he learn to be so treacherous, in prison?

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From Jea-hee? ;)

Oh. Plus -- it's how he's been making a living. Pulling in rich women and getting their money. Just, it's a lot harder to see than just hear about. Because yeah, for the first time I hated Maru a little. Even with the SJK forcefield in full effect.

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so right. that scene made my hair stand up. The way he watched her, it was almost cruel. There was no purpose to it. What would he lose by calling out to her "hey! I'm here."?

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That was a terrifying scene and he's supposedly the end game for EG? Not that I like her character all that much, but no.

Uh-uh. MR's officially off the beaten path and I cannot see how or why the writer thinks this pairing will work. Little Miss Sunshine cannot pair up equally with just anyone. It's too late for MR and I think he needs to be either with JH or alone in the end.

Look at the Dexter series (if familiar)....When I saw that the writers were going to give that character a family life, I dropped it. LOL It was not going to change him because he developed a taste for what he was doing. Give MR what he really wants and that is JH by his side in life or death.

I cannot see the writer being able to convince me of any other scenario for MR without it feeling forced but am willing to give her the opportunity.

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I can see Ma Ru being alone in the end. ...I think he might be even more damaged than Jae Hee, which is hard to swallow 'cause Jae Hee's been dealing with abuse since her childhood. There's been all this ominous stuff about being with Jae Hee "until the end" and the rope breaking when he was getting Eun Ki's doll and Jae Hee telling Eun Ki she's the only one who'll be hurt...I can't help but feel we might not have as perfect an ending as we hope (even though we want totally different endings, lol).

As for Dexter, yeah, I used to watch that show religiously, but I dropped it after [SPOILERS] they killed off his wife. Such a failure of imagination. If you can't find a way to write a story about a man's journey without killing off the woman just so that you don't have to deal with her, then that's a sign of just how weak a writer you are. Same thing happened with the Bourne series, and I love those movies.

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I think we can still get a redemption arc for Maru. Especially if this is his bottom. I didn't like what he did to Eun-gi at all (as someone said - the parade scene especially made my hair stand on end), but a good redemption story needs to take the protagonist out from a pretty dark place in order to be interesting. In my opinion anyway. Maru will have to suffer of course. And become equally vulnerable to Eun-gi. But I think it can still happen.

I hope anyway! I love a good redemption story. Watching someone slide into deeper and deeper blackness not so much.

@ladida: Yeah, I think you stopped watching Dexter at about the right time. I kept at it but the lack of imagination just kept coming and I finally stopped.

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Yeah, that parade scene was MESSED UP.

Therapy, Maru! Years and years of it!

And sign up Eun Gi while you're at it, cause boy will she need it soon.

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" The last thing my wife left behind, that resort. My daughter protected it.’ Can you not, just once, know how to praise me like that?”

When selling property, a seller generally does not care who is buying. I find it sad that she thinks her mother/father would want their only daughter to feel that some property was more of a legacy or importance than EG herself. I can't even...

Love SJK who makes MR awesome and scary.

Run EG, run....

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"When selling property, a seller generally does not care who is buying."

This I disagree with. It's extremely important to know exactly who you do business with, especially if said dealings could come back to haunt you. Branding is everything to a company. If Rolling was using the land for chemical dumping, Taesan would have gotten a lot of heat. In this modern world where information is sprawling, how could such a big company make such an immoral and non-judicial mistake. Even if Taesan claimed it was a careless mistake, it would have been deemed as "negligence."

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EG did not go into her "save the resort" mode looking at the potential buyer's past or recent business activities. The whole scene was not done well with MR helping her and saying she's "smart" when adding up some random numbers. She was not even investigating the buyer but looking for cash flow to stop the purchase.

The entire emphasis of that scene for me was that this property was her mother's legacy and not herself.....Sad commentary.

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Ah, I thought you were referring to the significance of that accomplishment when EG wanted praise from Daddy. I thought that accomplishment was crucial in business terms - since that was the only language Daddy would of.

I also agree that EG should have been more "smart" about this resort business. Perhaps I gave EG too much leeway as I thought it was a last-minute deal for her to investigate and her personal feelings were attached limiting her rational thought-processes.

Regardless, I thought the resort fiasco was really quite average in terms of everything else this drama is offering. The foreigners really did not help at all, the English script was also poorly written.

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You bring up a good point though about the research into the potential buyer's activities and/or purpose for the land to use it for other purposes that may cause damage to the environment and health to the residents nearby.

It halfheartedly mirrors MR and EG's relationship at this point where she is not looking into his past to see if there are any ulterior motives for entering her life.

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@mskololia: Yes, I love what you say about how sad it is that Eun Ki sees the resort as her mother's legacy and not herself. Maybe it has something to do with how severely she rejected her mom? And I think everyone can agree that the contract scene was not the best the show has offered us. Actually, that whole thing kind of made me roll my eyes because really? Ma Ru the med school drop out figured something out that Eun Ki the Harvard MBA graduate who's been working at Taesan for years and has been groomed for the position since infancy wasn't able to figure out? Like with the way you point out that she isn't investigating Ma Ru's background, part of me wants to say that it's character inconsistency and part of me wants to go ahead and accept that that's one of Eun Ki's weaknesses as a person, that she doesn't look at situations as deeply as she should or from as many perspectives as she should.

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Hmmm...@ladida, perhaps that's why her father has a problem with her solutions to business deals. She's very surface and does not look beyond the deal or to the future for possible repercussions. Like with the deal brokered with the strikers as well. It will be very costly for her and TS in the end. Will it be like her relationship with MR? She does not want to go deep it seems but just to be swept away by her feelings and emotional buoyancy kept alive by MR's care and attention.

And I say this based on what I call the "body of water scenes" where EG ends up in shallow waters vs JH who ends up in deep waters. They put those scenes in for a reason and for me it is to show how both women love MR.

If the writer forgets these scenes that definitely made in impression in my mind, and forges ahead with a true love story with MR/EG, oh well. :)

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@ladida: THANK YOU for mentioning how ridiculous it was that Maru, with no business experience is able to swoop in and solve all Eun Gi's resort problems. It's sometimes hard to see the forest for the trees, and two heads are better than one and all, but that just seemed so...convenient.

I guess it's possible my perception of Eun Gi as a business shark is just something that I've been clinging onto because that's how I want to see her...but the very first time we met her, she was basically castrating an exec for his misdealings, so I feel like she was presented as this gutsy, crazy smart business revolutionary. Which she still sort of is, just...inconsistently? I guess everybody has a blind spot.

mskololia: I love what you mentioned about Eun Gi and Jae Hee's water scenes. Significantly, Jae Hee throws herself into the deep deep ocean and Maru jumps in after her, whereas Maru throws a sleeping Eun Gi into a pond and stands there & watches. Quite an apt metaphor for those two relationships, eh?

One other thing I've noticed is that there are a lot of really gorgeous panoramic shots of Eun Gi and Maru (sometimes separately, sometimes together) surrounded by natural, pastoral scenes. Also, they both sleep outside!

Concurrently, many of the Maru/Jae Hee scenes take place indoors and have an oppressive feel to them. In the scene between Maru and Jae Hee at the bar, for example, the wall behind them is lined with shelves and shelves of wine, which are reminiscent of jail bars. I think that the show is positing that Maru is imprisoned by his ties to Jae Hee, while his connection to Eun Gi is something more natural and freeing. I noticed a similar motif in episode 3 or 4, I believe, which showed Maru on the hospital roof staring at he sunset and then later showed Jae Hee in the dark claustrophobic apartment of Lawyer Ahn, staring out at the artificial Seoul lights.

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@rearwindow: OK this is really random, but I loved the sounds of the ducks quacking in the background when Ma Ru and Eun Ki were on that bridge and he gave her that creepy kiss.

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@ladida: LOL, I love that you noticed that! I just rewatched the scene and they are a lovely backdrop to it :). Especially when it first appears that the kiss is heartfelt and not creepy. When it turns creepy, I want the ducks to waddle over and attack Maru, haha.

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@rearwindow, MR and JH had scenes outdoors as well when he was experience such grief over the loss of their relationhip and reminiscing about the places he and JH went to together, etc. From MR"s lips, he recalls only 10 good times together. LOL

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LOL! Those 10 times must've been AMAZING to spark such an obsession, haha.

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Jae Hee is a good portrayal of an amoral psychopath incapable of normal human emotions. Background fits also, child of a prostitute and a child abuse victim.

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I don't think she is incapable of normal human emotions.

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Well it is a fictional character so you could be right. In real life she matches up with Charles Manson, who is the child of a prostitute, child abuse victim, and had charismatic personality that enabled him to constantly influence others to throw away their principles and do what he wanted for them to do. Psychopaths can be excellent actors and mimic emotions to communicate/manipulate like other people learn to speak languages.

I think he even pulled a stunt once where he put himself in harm's way to force his followers to save him, confident they would as a tool to reinforce their willingness to sacrifice themselves for him, much like Jae Hee's jump in the ocean.
I would have to go back to read up on him again, but I think he jumped off of a cliff.

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Oh guys, I've got it bad for Lawyer Park. So this is what Second Lead Syndrome feels like.

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I'm with you, sistah. And the sad thing is, he's probably not even going to have a "chance" as K-drama Second Leads often have. It's probably only going to be a one-sided love from beginning to end.

Ah, I am hoping against all odds for that 0.001% chance that this drama will not go the conventional route and instead give Eun Gi a happy ending with Lawyer Park.

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And the writers-nim cackle in glee cause no way in hell will they ever do that. T_T Ah.... second-lead syndrome... been there done that far too many times.

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This is unprecedented for me. I have always supported the main lead in every drama I've watched so far but I think that what Maru is doing to Eun Gi right now is unforgivable. I'd sooner accept a tragic ending where Maru earns his redemption than some cop-out where all is forgiven and forgotten.

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So do I. I usually ship the main pairings. First time i desperately wanted the 2nd lead to get the girl. He's such a sweetheart :3
The writers just love toying with us though. We'll root but it's probably not happening. I won't be abandoning ship anytime soon though. Maru and Jae-hee can go self destruct somewhere else, together or not for all i care. Just give Eun-ki a happy ending with the guy who genuinely cares for her T.T. -sigh- why doesn't she like him like that?

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My wish is that maru gets amnesia, forgets about his connections with jae hee, and lives a happy life with eunki ><

which probably won't happen D':

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LOL if only ;)

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LOL can we switch out eun-gi's amnesia for maru's?
oh yes.

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I'm up for your version of the amnesia.

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I'm really blown away with this drama. Substantial plot, brilliant acting...what more could you ask for? It's one of those dramas that always leave me wanting for more. :)

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alk about a crazy stack of people ready to topple – sooner than later.

Why is is that crazy people always say they're crazy. Out loud. To others. As if it's an asset or something.

How many times is the word crazy said (or strongly implied) in conversation?
Jae Hee to Ma Roo: "What's the drink Van Gogh had so much of and he ended up cutting off his ear?"
Jae Hee to Ma Roo: "Let's just destroy ourselves together."

Jae hee to Ma Roo: “Are you crazy? Are you out of your mind?”
Eun Gee to Atty Park: “He's just so crazy about Jae Hee...the old man’s making me jump through hoops.”
Eun Gee to Ma Roo: I'm really going crazy over you.
Eun Gee to Ma Roo: Did I say I'm crazily in love with you?

About crazy people: they're not boring. But they are scary. Very.

Stones song running through my head the entire episode: You Can’t Always Get What You Want (but if you try, sometimes, you just might find-you get what you need). Yeah. Crazy talk.

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What's a lee kyung hee drama without some crazy characters ;)

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LOL sorry, but I just have to say:

Someone gets to say "I told you so" in terms of Eun-ki having no idea about Jae-hee and Maru (and thus, not actually using anyone, except maybe in using Maru to piss her father off).

I don't want to start a fight or anything; I was just incredibly amused and invested in some of the debates that went on in the comments section of the earlier episodes, so I'm just glad everything's been clarified. :D

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Yeah. im glad the air's been cleared up about Eun-gi's intentions.
i think lee kyung hee should have filled in the holes a bit for the audience cause all that speculation of does-she-know, does-she-not-know kind of messed with my head.
Now, i'm just so nervous/anxious for Eun-gi cause this makes her a victim in maru&jae-hee's game. And considering how hard she's already fallen, i'd say her vulnerability level is a 9. No, make it a 10 since she was kicked out of the house and has nobody.
Hope she never loses that spunk/fire we saw in her in the first few episodes.
Why did maru have to pick such an emotionally/physically damaged girl? Oh, the agony to come!

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Very true, but I still see it as a moment of character inconsistency. I mean, come on!

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I agree, The EunGi we met in the first couple of episodes wouldn't fall so hard for Maru especially when she was suspicious at the beginning. This screams character inconsistency.

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Yes. Completely out of character. Especially since she had him investigated. You mean she found out everything about him except his name?

And when a guy suddenly pops out of no where to go mountain biking with her and save her life, she doesn't even check whether the guys were the same?

I went back to the first episode to see if she every used maru's name when refering to the doctor who saved her life, but she only says 'quack'. so its not like they missed anything - but still - its not like eun gi.

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I agree with other things, but: after meeting a guy for the first time, it's weird that you DON'T check his identity? Really?

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Yes, especially when EG told the guy, who phoned her in the hospital with the lawyer Park scene, to follow JH and the money and to report back to her everything....

I cannot unsee what I saw. C'mon writer.

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I guess the only way we can justify how eun-gi fell so hard so fast is because of the lack of love in her life?
I guess when you're isolated from a world of love and protection, the second someone extends his/her hand to you, you're no longer putting up a cold front and just taking it. Plus, you're definitely not used to and and dont know how to respond to it. It's kind of really the only light at the end of the tunnel for eun-gi.
I think that's also why she was willing to take the fall for her ex with the drugs, considering she's such a smart and strong women, it was a bit odd.

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I actually don't mind Eun Ki falling so fast and hard for Ma Ru (http://www.dramabeans.com/2012/09/nice-guy-episode-5/#comment-744040) but I do wish she wasn't so blindsided by his past with Jae Hee. Be in love and being knowledgeable aren't mutually exclusive, and I want her to be able to stand her ground against Ma Ru and Jae Hee's machinations.

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Word.

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I find it amazing how you failed to understand the gist of the episode especially the morning scene. First, I'm disappointed that you don't get Maru's character at all. Maru is a nice guy but hidden in a shell of someone who has had to make unsavory choices to survive. Yes he is going to use EG but just like all the girls he played around with he's not gonna bleed her dry and will make sure she's going ti be fine in the end and will just feel like waking up from a nightmare. And like all nightmares, it fades with time and he will make sure that no real harm will be done. Haven't you noticed that none of the girls he played with has a grudge against him? EG is also not that stupid. Yes she's falling for Maru but she's well aware of Maru's motives. In the morning scene, she doesnt think Maru is joking as you said. She understands that Maru is giving her a way out. The kiss was EG's way of saying "I understand and I dont care if you use me". Maru was actually surprised by her answer. In the end I believe Maru will truly fall for her. EG is not blind but is willin to play with fire because of what she's feeling and is willin to see where it takes her. But her eyes are wide open. As cor JH, all she wants is for Maru to get out of the equation. Fact is she feels she has this game on the bag and Maru is screwing things. Right now she's trying to manipulate Maru in to staying out of the fight but seeing that its not working, I can guarantee that she will start takin direct attacks at Maru in future episodes. I do think its a credit to the writers that all of this is not that obvious.

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In that morning scene, I can see the perspective that Eun-ki isn't completely taking what Maru said lightly. Eun-ki recognizes that Maru is implying he isn't what he's cracked up to be and she's decided that she's okay with that as long as he loves her or makes her feel loved and protected.

I agree with you that she has her eyes open, but I don't think they are open enough. The game Maru is playing is deeper than the usual bad guys out there (typically using a girl for money or her body). And his past is not that of the usual scums(gambling, cheating, not paying child support, DUIs, ponzi schemes). Who would ever suspect a guy of using you to strike back at his ex-gf, who turns out to be your stepmother-to-be/nemesis. Getting burned in one thing, but being incinerated is a different deal.

I agree that Maru will be trying to hurt Eun-ki in the least hurtful way and he did give Eun-ki a way out. But because she didn't take it, he uses that as an excuse that using her decision to stick with him as a sign from the universe that this is his path. He's also not ready to hear that the universe doesn't want to embark on this crazy path, so he refrained from clarifying what he meant so that she would give him the answer he wanted.

Of course, he'll try not to trample her too much. However, as an audience member, it looks extra wrong because we've gotten to know Eun-ki while Maru's only seen her a handful of times. We know she's been hurt before and that hurt is still coming back to bite her in the form of Jae-hee holding her arrest over her head. He thinks no real harm will be done (she'll cry, get over it, and move on to some other guy), but getting hit by lightning twice is too much.

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Hmm...his decision to use Eun Ki has nothing to do with survival and everything to do with indulgence and obsession. Yeah he's telling her to handle what he's doing to her as a nightmare, but wouldn't it be better if she never had that nightmare in the first place? And if he's willing to give her an out then why not tell her the whole truth? But I guess we'll find out more about Eun Ki's knowledge and Ma Ru's intentions next week.

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If MR does not even tell his best friend JG what he's doing to JH, why tell his "pretend" gf?

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Yeah...wouldn't it be more efficient if he had proposed that both work together to bring Jae-hee down? Would it work even better if Eun-ki was in on it and just pretended to be Maru's gf? What purpose would an ignorant Eun-ki serve? It's not like she's BFFs with Jae-hee and he needs her to unwittingly destroy Jae-hee.

this also begs the question, what exactly is MR going to do to JH? Maybe I didn't pay attention well enough, but I'm still not getting what he's going to do except the vague he's going to take her down. Why would he even need Eun-ki if he's smart and sneaky enough to ruin acquisitions deals and take compromising cell phone pics?

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In my estimation, MR doesn't need to use EG to stay close to JH and bring her down because we all know he's smart enough to do that all by his lonesome.

But wait, the amnesia angle where the girl forgets about him. Yes, that's the ticket. He has to use all of his wiles to convince EG, using photos he's taken of them, that they were seriously an item so he continues to terrorize JH and keep off her balance until EG regains her memories all the while loving MR again because gigolos have it like that? LOL

MR's such a douche and I love his character.

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EG using the cell to keep MR on the line (twice) while talking with JH is telling that she knows there is a grudge between these two and she's using it to her advantage.

MR is willingly being used by EG. I can see JH using that trick against her....

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Thanks for the recap! Yay! :) This drama is so so good. And so bad for the health. I've been crazily waiting for the uploads two midnights in a row. Regardless they're raw copies, I'm sold!

I'm holding my breath just watching the episodes unfold. I love, love, lovety MCW, I just hope that with the last scene, she'll smile back at Maru, with an evil grin "So you think, you got me eh?!" Revenge game on.

Oh well! I don't know!I'm confused! Hah!

I'm not sure what's up with that watch. I'm sure that young master jae-gil will be of some good use in the future.

Here's what I think should be that great plan, Maru and EG should be at the same level on getting revenge to evil stepmother. This is a revenge contract, pretend they're in love. Yada, yada...And of course, Maru would somehow falls in love for real (I wish!!!). But then EG gets so hurt by the evil JH, that Maru would really want to protect for real.

And then the amnesia part plays in, such that there's a real effort from Maru to save and to protect EG. OH I don't know!!! Only in KDramaland, the world is flat!

My weeks are longer, I wish for Wednesdays and Thursdays all week long! ;-D

P.S. I'm crazily addicted to Arang and the Magistrate too.

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6 episodes and I'm a goner.
Thanks HeadsNo2!

I know everybody is having these personal reactions about the characters in this drama like there's some kind of thi-is-good-this-is-bad-code, but what I get from it is that Writer Lee is really messing with our heads.

There are no rules. As much as there are no nice guys, cause in the end nobody here is good or nice. They're pretty much a bunch of damaged, lost people.

I don't know, this is going to sound weird, but I love Maru. Maybe it's just wishiful thinking too, but I feel like everybody is focusing on the cold stares, and yeah those are creepy, but since Maru got to spend some time with Eun Ki I do think he'll end up liking her for real.

Maybe it's because he seems ready to step up and take care of the lost ones around him (Choco, Jae-gil Jae-hee...) and let's face it, Eun Ki is just as fragile as she doesn't want to appear.

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that's becasue she doesn't ever eat...

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lol

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I like this show. Joong Ki has really upped his acting. But I have a question....I thought Eun Ki's character is supposed to be blind?? Or am I thinking of a different drama? O.o

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No, she was supposed to have amnesia or getting it or something like that (BTW what happened to that?)....I kept getting similarly confused when the dram was promoting...LOL....looks like this happens when we watch way too many kdramas...characters are always losing their memory, or eyesight, or just losing it period

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Haha!! Either that or they DIE in the end.

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i dont understand T_T. why does the "poor" people in drama still have rather nice clothes? I'm kind of jelly.

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lol... I don't think there are any genuinely poor characters in this drama. Maru just didn't move to a better place, because he was attached to memories of Jae Hee. Seems like he's earning quite a bit with his gigolo business. While they were a couple, Jae Hee also seems to have earned money with some sort of shady business (probably related to Eun Ki's dad), possibly to finance Maru's education...

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Since I'm pretty much hating on Kang Maru right now, let's all take a moment to appreciate this BTS pic of Joong Ki and MCW ;)

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mb3cie69cJ1rvp0w2o6_1280.jpg

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<3

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I find Ja Hee to be the most fascinating character on the show. She is such a walking contradiction.I love her push and pull conversations with Maroo taut with sexual tension. Her brother is such an animal.

I am really surprised Eun Gi fell for Maroo so hard and fast especially when she was suspicious of him from the get-go. She is headed for heartbreak hotel but it's not like she wasn't warned but I think she will be the main OTP with Maroo. She must have her stomach lined with lead or steel to drink so much and to have no hangover the next-day. I don't think her lawyer side-kick is gay, I think it's a cover for him to get close to her.

Eun Gi's dad only trusts women 30%, I wonder if he treated his wife the same way. I think he will leave the company in Eun Gi's care as he trusts her more than Ja Hee.

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If the writer is true to form with Jae Hee, then once her son is no longer a tool for her to have wealth and power he becomes a burden and disposable.
Since her husband seems to have had her kill that man in the hotel room for him and she told him she sacrificed the person she cared most about to do it, he should be aware of what she is and at least a little suspicious about what she might do to his son if she is not kept happy.

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I disagree, she would never use her son for that.

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Here. Here.

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Thank you so much for the recap. I feel much better after your views on this week's episodes! Still disppointed but well now I have a better understanding of where this drama is heading towards.
My thoughts: Maru is a pathetic character, how long is he going to let Jaehee have that much control over him? Devil knows! He made those stupid choices and talk about revenge? Yeah right dumbass. Thankfully the only good thing about this guy is that he's aware of his stupidity, they're a match made in hell and I'm glad they're on their way to 'self destruction.' Eungi is precious to me and I really pity her for what's to come. Yes she will STRIKE BACK of that I'm sure but everything whithin her is going to shatter to bits, its just so sad. The mere fact that she's fallen head over heels in love too soon is heartbreaking, it cleary proves how much love she has to offer and want in return! Lawyer Joon on the other hand is just lovely, made me cry too! He needs more screentime with eungi, they have great chemistry too ;)
The only thing that boggles my mind is how and why they're bringing about the amnesia bullshit! Is that the only thing they can think of to bring the leads together! Ugh.
I know I should apprciate the writer's work, afterall its her creativity that brought about this drama and yeah I need, to lower my expectations and a whole load of patience too. But don't you hate it? Like some books, the gist appear really interesting and enticing that you've got to buy them, only to find out the writer has done the worst job screwing every good thing about it, literally murdering your expectations!! I regret betraying arang and the magistrate for this damn show and worse, it has me hooked that I can't even watch the other drama. Like SERIOUSLY!

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as you contradict yourself much in hate and love with Nice Guy... i dun understand what good thing that being destroy bcause if you refer to change/ should i say the revealing of real MR in Ep6... well... I believe the writer has done her job very well bcause MR is not simple. EVERY smart guy who when crazy is not simple

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yeah I see your point, its just that I hate Maru's character for who he really is or has become of his own making (that's why all the rant) haha. I should keep an open mind I know and let the writer do her thing.
But one thing I stick to, Maru may be a genius for all I care but he's definitely not using his head (heart too) when JH's around I may hate MR for the misery he puts himself into but I'm still very much interested in him in a twisted kind of way (like i want to see him fall) :)

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We won't have a happy ending, will we ? :(

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don't hold your breath for one, neh?

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@Mars, I agree with you 100%.

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Excellent recap Miss Heads.

My fave character is Eun Ki and I am seriously scared for her. And im already heartbroken for her.

Song Joon Ki is gooood, im hating Maru now, he is scary. And im having a heard time rooting for him.

In life, forgiveness is the only thing that makes us free.

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It feels like a lot of foreshadowing from ma ru's letter in the beginning. Even in the last episode when they were talking about the jackal and coyote, there seemed to be some heavy foreshadowing.

Honestly, I'm not sure what I'm hoping for from ma ru, I just know I don't want this story to end up like bad guy or tree of heaven (since both eun gi and choco are sick).

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Even though Jae Hee is a horrible self serving biatch, she seems to be a loving and caring mother to her son.You really hate her because she thinks that everything will come her way no matter who she destroys.That doesn't always happen because she'll get her final retribution.What comes around, goes around which applies for Maru who's a douche bag too.

SJK is great as Maru because he has the Nice Guy looks but is conniving. But every time, Eun ki kisses Maru, he has that cold deameanor on his face. So scary! You can tell this is Eun ki's first love.She is so innocent and gaga over him that her brains went out the door.She should run the opposite direction because he doesn't care and will ruin her.

I'm glad in the last scene, Eun ki saw the graduation photo of Jae Hee and Maru. She can't be that stupid, so maybe she will get her common sense back. I like her with Joon Ha, the dubious gay who genuinely cares for her.

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EG thought the picture of JH kissing lawyer Ahn was PS so yeah, she's going to believe whatever MR tells her and it will be the truth. MR does not lie exc for that one night...

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