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You’re the Best, Lee Soon-shin: Episodes 25-26

Phew, the cat is out of the bag, finally, after desperately clinging to the walls of said bag and shredding it to pieces until there was hardly even any bag left to hide in. It took some bloody scratches, bruised hearts, and a heckuva while to get here, but we did make it. Huzzah.

Plus, our hero’s romantic feelings are inching closer and closer to a point of no return, I think. One of the best things about the show is Jo Jung-seok’s slow build of tension—and if we were to go back to the beginning and only plot his character arc, I think we’d find that he’s been playing this with a finely controlled hand. Very cool.

SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Seok-hoon – “연애의 시작” (The start of dating) [ Download ]

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EPISODES 25-26

Soon-shin comes home just in time to see Mi-ryung exchanging heated words with Mom, and wonders what she’s doing here. The others uneasily cover up the reason and say that Mi-ryung knew Grandma from back in the day, while Mom brushes aside Soon-shin’s questions and sends her up to bed.

Outside the house, Mi-ryung matter-of-factly tells Jun-ho that Soon-shin is her daughter. This kind of serious talk calls for a venue change, and at her house Jun-ho angrily takes her to task for not telling Soon-shin about the truth before she even came to him to plan a press conference. I mean, unless she wanted to look like a self-absorbed manipulator and egoist, but what are the chances of that?

Mi-ryung says that he isn’t in a position to worry about Soon-shin, however, and should be more focused on his actress Song Mi-ryung’s impending career crisis. On that score I give her the point, at least until he fesses up about his feelings. She says she’ll worry about Soon-shin and directs Jun-ho to take care of the press.

It’s a bad night for everyone, with Jun-ho feeling frustrated and Mom tossing in turning all night. In the morning, everyone stares at Soon-shin while pretending nothing is wrong, which is awkward for everybody.

With Yoo-shin still out of the loop, she starts nagging Mom to quit working at the chicken shop, which is an added argument that nobody needs to deal with right now. Hye-shin tells her to ease up on Mom today, which hardly assuages Yoo-shin’s curiosity about the strange air in the household.

Yi-jung pops up at the clinic to ask Chan-woo to lunch, which he curtly denies, citing prior engagement. He asks her not to send him any more text messages and reasserts that he has a girlfriend, just in time for Yoo-shin to hear.

Yi-jung lays it on thick by appealing to his sympathy, tearing up and saying that she can’t help how she feels about him. Thankfully Yoo-shin steps in to rescue him (and us) from too much of that and whisks him off to lunch.

She’s pretty cool about it, too, saying that he doesn’t have to explain the scene since she understands. She’s more concerned about her mother working for his mother, and I think she has a great point about the power imbalance, except she says it in her typical blunt way and doesn’t take into consideration the fact that she’s borderline badmouthing his mother. Chan-woo takes issue and says that just as she feels for her mother, so does he for his.

Then he gets an apology text from Yi-jung, and now Yoo-shin sees the whole screen full of messages and revises her opinion—is he playing the field? She’s not accusing him of cheating, but more like keeping potential backup girlfriends around. Again I don’t think she’s being totally out of line, but her way of accusing Chan-woo isn’t exactly helpful and she barks that Yi-jung keeps pestering him because he’s giving her opportunities. She throws out the “Let’s break up” line and stomps out of there.

Mom spends the day in a daze, then decides to do something about it and heads over to Mi-ryung’s house. She asks Mi-ryung not to hurt Soon-shin with this truth, and Mi-ryung is genuinely confused (in her bubble of privilege, this one), asking what hurt she could have possibly given the family. Is there an eye-roll big enough for that statement? She thinks that because she never asked the family to raise Soon-shin, she has behaved perfectly justifiably. I like how she conveniently forgets the part where she abandoned her baby.

Mom gets angry for a different reason, accusing her of sneaking around with her husband, and Mi-ryung seems so taken aback that I’m betting he isn’t bio-dad. She merely says that Mom has too little faith in her husband, adding, “I feel sorry for Chang-hoon oppa. I see how his marriage must have been.”

Mom is raging and yelling, so Mi-ryung says that it’s clear she won’t believe anything she says. Thus she won’t try to explain and Mom’s free to think whatever she wants. Also, Soon-shin should know the truth about her parenthood. I know Mi-ryung’s cold and unsympathetic, but in the face of Mom’s shrillness I have to say her coolly logical response is a bit satisfying.

Mom attacks Mi-ryung for being a terrible mother and practically throws herself at her. She’s dragged out screaming, “Don’t you dare mess with my daughter!”

Mi-ryung is huffy, but Manager Hwang has misgivings about one big tidbit: “That family believes she’s Chang-hoon hyungnim’s daughter.” Aha. Finally, confirmation of what we all suspected, but weren’t positive on: Soon-shin isn’t Dad’s daughter, thus he didn’t cheat. I’d feel sorrier for Mom’s misdirected rage if she hadn’t been so hard to swallow the last twenty episodes.

Manager Hwang suggests that they tell the truth about the father, but Mi-ryung decides to stick to that story. She says warningly that Soon-shin IS his daughter—her tone indicating, And don’t you dare try to suggest that’s not the truth, because it is from now on.

With nobody else to appeal to, Mom visits Jun-ho to ask him to help stop the story from breaking. He wants nothing more, and says that he’ll do his best.

Knowing what he does, Jun-ho is (extra) awkward when Soon-shin spots him outside and asks if something happened with Mi-ryung, because things were very strange after she dropped by yesterday. He feigns ignorance and says no, though he does add, “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”

Grandma asks Hye-shin to go with her to confront Mi-ryung, and gets angry when Hye-shin advises her against it. So Grandma does that thing that drives me batty, which is turning her anger on somebody who did nothing to deserve it, and says that Hye-shin is just like Mom, and that’s why they both got cheated on. Yeeeesh. Then this turns into a diatribe on how disappointed Grandma is in Hye-shin: “You were so smart in school, why did you turn into such an idiot?” And there we have it, Worst Granny of the Year.

Hye-shin calls out Yoo-shin for coffee to ask her to lay off with the mom-nagging, and suggests that it might even be good for Mom to work with Chicken Ajumma. Yoo-shin doesn’t understand why unni keeps referring to Mom going through stuff right now when she isn’t aware of anything, so finally Hye-shin fills her in—on Mi-ryung, Soon-shin, and Dad’s supposed affair.

Jun-ho makes a last-ditch appeal to the reporter to ask him to pull the article, offering him anything he wants. Reporter Park isn’t interested in a payoff, saying that nothing he is writing is false, and it’s about time people saw past Mi-ryung’s image. Jun-ho tries to make a bid for the daughter’s privacy and emotional state, but the reporter counters that it’s too bad for her, but that’s not a reason to withhold the truth.

So finally Jun-ho pleads for extra time—just a few days to let the family prepare emotionally for the shock. At least Reporter Park agrees, though it’s only for a few days.

Next Jun-ho goes to Mi-ryung to tell her he intends to push back tomorrow’s press conference, until she tells Soon-shin the truth and gets her agreement. His proposal is the decent thing to do, but Mi-ryung points out how ridiculous he sounds, given that he was betting with her as the object only recently.

Jun-ho agrees that he hurt her, but he doesn’t want to inflict any more pain. Mi-ryung says Soon-shin has no reason to be hurt by the truth since she should be glad to know she’s her mother. It’s almost amazing, how high her opinion of herself is. She declares that she’ll make Soon-shin happy, lift her out of her pathetic life, and support her if she wants to act. Completely blind to the irony, she yells at her housemaid to reject Yeon-ah’s call.

Thus Jun-ho has to call Mom to tell her regretfully that he couldn’t stop the press conference, which is proceeding as scheduled. He asks her to tell Soon-shin the truth gently.

Jun-ho catches Soon-shin as she’s leaving the restaurant, having just said goodbye to Young-hoon and Jae-bum. He keeps stumbling over his words, unable to meet her eye, and finally just says with difficulty, “I’m sorry.”

Yoo-shin comes home in a fury that night, upset that she’s been left in the dark and screaming mad at their father for cheating. She’s indignant on Mom’s behalf, but it comes out more like anger at Mom for being too nice and passive and not ripping out Mi-ryung’s hair for stealing her man. Taking a page out of Grandma’s book, Yoo-shin turns her anger on the victim and yells that if Mi-ryung wants to take Soon-shin away, they should just let her. Good lord, this family. I get that this is the knee-jerk reaction and that they (probably?) don’t mean what they say, but to be so quick to renounce your sister because your father was an adulterer (allegedly)?

Hye-shin follows her outside and tries to calm her down. She isn’t successful, and Yoo-shin sobs that this can’t be true, that Dad wasn’t that kind of person. I know this is a radical thought, but maybe, just maybe, instead of jumping to assumptions you could have faith in your dead Dad? Just saying? A suggestion? …no?

Jun-ho drinks alone at the restaurant, and asks Young-hoon how he felt when he first learned he was adopted. Huh, hello there coincidental factoid. Did you just write your way into the show last night?

Young-hoon says that it hurt, even though he had caring parents. Without explaining the cause of his mood, Jun-ho says he’s pathetic: “All I do is talk a big talk, but I can’t do a thing.” Young-hoon: “You only figured that out now?” Ha.

Mom suggests a mother-daughter date tomorrow, so they go shopping for clothes and have lunch together. Soon-shin promises to do better from now on and apologizes for being a troublemaker, since Mom must’ve been disappointed that she was so different from her unnis. Mom assures her that that’s not true.

Soon-shin suggests visiting Dad’s gravesite, so up the mountain they go. Mom’s mood has been heavy all day as she prepares for the big reveal, and Soon-shin seems to understand that something big is coming. She steels herself when Mom starts her talk, recalling the day she “first met Soon-shin” as a baby. It sounds like a poetic way to say “the day you were born” so it isn’t immediately clear that she’s explaining the adoption, until she gets to the dreaded truth: “You were born to a different mother.”

Speaking of whom, Mi-ryung presides over her press conference, playing her part perfectly—subdued demeanor, humble language, tearful apologies for deceiving her fans. She explains that she had a daughter whom she hadn’t had contact with, whose current whereabouts she only recently learned. She asks the reporters not to bother her daughter, who didn’t know of all this, and fears that her mistake will hurt her. Oh, she’s good—she just took all that stuff about concern and hurt from Jun-ho’s speech, didn’t she?

Soon-shin struggles to take in the truth while Mom begs her to believe her, that she never stopped considering her a daughter. The initial disbelief turns to anger and she demands to know who her mother is.

She already knows the truth by the time she and Mom make it back home, but it’s rubbing salt in the wound to see the family watching Mi-ryung’s press conference on television. And now the dam breaks and she scoffs at this woman who is supposed to be her mother: “Then who am I?” she yells. “How do you expect me to believe it? How can she be my mother?” And why are they only telling her now, after twenty years? Good questions all.

Soon-shin runs out of the house in shock and Hye-shin follows her out, only to lose sight of her pretty quickly. Bread Man joins in on the search as they make their way through the streets.

They run into Jun-ho as he arrives in the neighborhood, and it’s cute how Bread Man again steps up to play big bro, staring Jun-ho down. Of course he has to back down when he realizes Hye-shin knows Jun-ho after all, haha.

Jun-ho scours the neighborhood on his own, checking Soon-shin’s usual spots. He even hikes up the mountain, but he has no luck. Soon-shin spends the day wandering aimlessly, still in shock.

With no other recourse, Mom says she’ll wait for Soon-shin to calm down and come back on her own. She leaves worried phone messages, but can do little else.

After fielding phone calls and dealing with reporters at her gate, Mi-ryung decides on the strategic move of faking a collapse and admitting herself to the hospital. Man, she should be the genius agency CEO in this drama. She’s got the media plays down pat.

Yeon-ah has to be told of the scandal by her makeup artist, and hurries to Mi-ryung’s bedside. I actually feel bad for her, fretting about Mi-ryung genuinely while Mi-ryung merely pretends to be in weak health.

Soon-shin isn’t home by morning, so Mom tries calling Chan-mi to see if she spent the night there. Chan-mi’s confused at the question, but Chicken Parents immediately realize that le shit must have hit le fan, and a slip of the tongue has Ajumma admitting the truth to her kids. I’ll give it to her, Ajumma held on longer than I’d thought.

Yoo-shin finds Mom preparing a huge breakfast of all of Soon-shin’s favorite foods, and that gets her angry, for what reason I cannot reasonably understand. Yoo-shin yells at Mom for being stupid and demands a DNA test, and when Mom says that DNA isn’t important Yoo-shin gets even shoutier. She says Dad was mocking them all his life and barks that it’s incredibly wrong for “a kid like that” to upset Mom, and for Mom to respond by cooking her special dishes.

I’ve said it a lot already, but this drama really brings it out in me: Good lord! Now that we’ve exhausted our supply of awful moms and grandmas, is it time to move on to the sisters?

Then Yoo-shin actually accuses Mom of not catching on to the affair. Geez, way to blame the victim. Mom slaps her across the face, and I’m not sorry. Mom yells that she’d better not say that again, because Soon-shin is their daughter and sister. Yoo-shin storms off crying.

Hye-shin tries to soothe her and says Mom’s hurting. Yoo-shin cries that she knows, and it’s because she knows that she’s saying this stuff. Yes, because rubbing salt in wounds totally makes them heal faster.

But making things even worse, they find that their house is surrounded by a phalanx of reporters. The phone calls come pouring in, inquiring about Lee Soon-shin, and all the furor has the family at a loss. It also means that getting out of the house is a trial, and Hye-shin asks for Bread Man’s help.

So Jin-wook comes out to face the press, playing the gruff ajusshi and acting like he doesn’t know who this Soon-shin is. They’ve got the wrong house—the only people living here are his pretty wife, his daughter, and himself. HA.

He threatens to call the cops on them and gets them to scatter, thankfully. To hammer in the family man image, he takes Woo-joo’s hand in his, and she allows this with the utmost reluctance before stomping off at first opportunity.

Bread Man doesn’t know what’s going on but he thoughtfully doesn’t press Hye-shin for details, just assures her that he’ll help however he can. Her thanks has him marveling, “She said Jin-wook-sshi… She knew my name.” Aw.

Soon-shin walks through the neighborhood toward her house, but stops at the sight of reporters camped outside. She turns around.

At the Shin household, the ladies gossip about Mi-ryung’s scandal while the men roll their eyes inwardly at them. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what they’re doing, because that’s definitely what I’m doing.

Mom somehow makes this about her—how could Mi-ryung fool HER?—and Yi-jung smirks that she totally knew something like this would happen. Schadenfreude is such an ugly color on you. Even Dr. Shin points out how she’s excited about the gossip, while Mom just asks, “Who, me?” Yes, she who takes glee in a supposed friend’s downfall.

Jun-ho continues to call Soon-shin with no answer, and heads to the restaurant. A beer, first thing in the morning? Well I suppose you’re justified today.

Thinking that Jun-ho’s upset about the headache of dealing with Mi-ryung’s scandal, Young-hoon offers a sympathetic ear. I do love that we as viewers have the secret knowledge that Jun-ho really couldn’t care less about Mi-ryung’s crisis, I think—this is all about Soon-shin.

When Young-hoon asks about Mi-ryung’s daughter, Jun-ho tells him, “Ask Soon-shin yourself. It’s her.” Young-hoon assumes he’s pulling his leg, but Jun-ho’s grim reaction is confirmation enough.

Soon-shin finally picks up her phone, answering when Manager Hwang calls to ask for a meeting. But she’s only talking to him to instruct him never to call again, as she has no intention of meeting them.

On the upside for Mi-ryung, public sentiment is swinging around in her favor, with positive reactions far outnumbering the negative ones.

Yeon-ah takes news of the daughter pretty well, actually, and says that she intends to extend a hand and treat her like a new sister. Only to have her face fall when Mi-ryung names that sister. Of all the sisters in the world…

Deciding to visit Mi-ryung, Jun-ho’s mother sets out cooking a large spread. I find it amusing that while Mom prepares her salad, she cluck-clucks that Mi-ryung’s “heart must be torn in two,” just as she rips a head of lettuce in half with her bare hands. I’m pretty certain this is unintentional—I don’t give this show credit for doing that level of subtlety—but it’s hilarious. Mom does at least turn this into a teaching moment, telling Yi-jung to come cheer up Mi-ryung, because ignoring someone in their time of need is bad behavior. I’d say rubbing their nose in condescending “I told you so”s is a close second, but Mom gets points for trying.

Despite huffing at her phone earlier when Chan-woo didn’t call, Yoo-shin ignores his calls when he does. He shows up at her office after work, and she continues to rebuff him, saying they’d broken up. He disagrees and tries to talk it out, wanting to lend her his support during her emotional time.

But Yoo-shin has taken it into her head that this is further proof that all men suck, that they’re all disgusting pigs who cheat, and therefore she will never date or marry. Her blanket denunciation of all manhood has Chan-woo arguing that he isn’t like that, and that she should know him well enough to know that, but she retorts that she thought she knew her father too. Sigh. Maybe we cut this one loose, Chan-woo. It’s her loss.

Soon-shin wanders some more, and this time Chan-mi spots her in the neighborhood and takes her aside for coffee. Chan-mi offers up her sympathy and support, encourage Soon-shin to buck up. But mention of Mi-ryung and the reporters stirs Soon-shin’s anger, and she barks that Mi-ryung isn’t her mother.

She calls Jun-ho to demand Mi-ryung’s whereabouts, then heads over immediately. He’s both incredibly relieved to have heard from Soon-shin and worried about what’s about to go down, and hurries to the hospital.

Soon-shin arrives first and steps inside the room with a hard glare. Mi-ryung has been expecting the visit to come at some point and says all the right things—that she’s sorry, she was wrong, Soon-shin must hate her. You get the sense she had this speech all rehearsed in her head, maybe pulled from a script or two.

But this scene veers off-script when Soon-shin cuts her off, calling her Teacher (not mother) and issuing one request: Keep reporters away from her family.

Soon-shin: “I don’t want to be someone who brings difficulty to my family. I really don’t want them suffering because of me. My family is precious to me. My mother, grandmother, sisters—I can’t live without them. It’s because of them that I’ve come this far. Do you understand? So don’t contact me anymore. I don’t want to meet you again.”

She turns coldly and walks out without a second glance. Her strong facade starts to crack as she exits the hospital, just as she runs into Jun-ho. He tries to talk to her, offer her comfort, and then pulls her wrist to hold her back when she tries to dismiss him and walk on. He asks where she slept, how she’s been, and she answers dully that she’s fine.

He presses her to react, to get angry, reminding her of her words from before—that she has a heart, and she can get hurt. Soon-shin asks tearfully, “And if I get angry, does anything change? Does it go away? Can I return to the me of the past?”

He doesn’t have an answer to that, but he does takes her hand (not the wrist—he’s evolving!) and offers to take her home. But she pulls her hand free and walks away, and as he watches her go we see that Yeon-ah is watching in the background. Ho-hum, don’t care about her.

Mi-ryung is upset to hear about the reporters hounding the Lee family, because this means somebody leaked the info to the press. Manager Hwang admits he did it because there was no point in hiding it, and she reacts angrily. I guess she did at least mean to keep it quiet, even if she was just out to protect her welfare and not theirs.

Mom walks home that night and finds Soon-shin sitting curbside, to her great relief. Soon-shin approaches like a scared little girl and cries that she’s sorry, asking, “Nothing’s going to change, right?”

She rattles off all the family connections that will stay the same, anxious to be reassured that she’ll still be part of them. “You have to treat me just like before. Just like before, okay?”

Mom gathers her to herself as Soon-shin cries, and they stand there sobbing together. And that’s the scene that Mi-ryung witnesses on her way over to talk to them.

 
COMMENTS

These episodes were heavy on the angst, which is a double-edged sword: On one hand, this means the secret is finally out and that everybody knows and now we can move on already, thank goodness. There’s only so much hiding you can do of the same old secret before you get really tired of it, and I think we were there ten episodes ago. But on the other hand, it means we have to deal with the resulting angstrosity as a necessary plot pass-through, like we did after Dad died. And this is a show that, at its worst, is barely watchable—i.e, when it’s being overly melodramatic and tearful, because it just doesn’t handle angst with any level of subtlety.

What has kept me hanging on, then, are all the side characters that I do really enjoy and the light funny moments, and the slow build of the romances. I really like that the development of Soon-shin and Jun-ho’s relationship is so gradual, which gives us a close-up look at the growth of their feelings. Particularly with him; it’s a satisfying thing to watch the growing depth of his caring. Jo Jung-seok plays those moments so well, that we can feel his inner conflict—how he wants to do more and force his way into her life, but how he’s barely restraining himself out of respect for her wishes. And his struggle to deal with feeling powerless to help her when he just wants to swoop in and be the white knight.

It’s why I loved the moment he took Soon-shin’s hand, rather than letting his hotheadedness dictate again. He has a tendency to drag her along, which is an affliction that ALL K-drama males have issues with, but it was an especially sweet moment in this context. And that moment in this episode made a lot of things worth it. It’s a little like digging for clams, I feel. You stick it out because those interactions are so gratifying—but on the downside, a bad week can leave you feeling like you did a lot of digging for not a lot of reward.

I do think that this is a show that is more enjoyable to watch and not so much to recap, because as the recapper I’m struggling to make my way through the bulk of the shrill, overblown, angsty scenes. As a watcher I’d zip forward and pick out the good stuff, bypassing a lot of personal frustration, but I don’t currently have that option. It’s also why we are so wary of taking on longer shows here, because it’s such a commitment, and one we enter into relatively blindly in Week 1. We’ve made exceptions before, but not lightly. ‘Cause let’s face it, I’m a commitment-phobe—I like my stories to the point and punchy, so sue me.

So this is me giving fair warning that weekly recaps of this show may be on the way out—the week-to-week output of this drama offers too little payoff to make it worth it. On the other hand, if that happens I wouldn’t be abandoning the show entirely, because I plan to stick around as a viewer through the end, and may pop back every eight to ten episodes, or at least at the end to wrap things up.

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Jun ho reaching for Soon Shin's hand was just too cute!! Thanks for the recap!

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Thanks!

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Thank you!
Love this show <3

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I've only been following recaps for this drama so far, but jumped in to actually watch them after JJS got a haircut. Shallow? Definitely. But new hurr = turning point, so I was actually being strategic!

Episode 26 was the best performance I've ever seen from IU (okay, out of the select few I watched of YTBLSS...) and I was thoroughly impressed by her last scene with her adoptive mother. I was bawling by the end of it.

Coming in a close second the LSS/SJH scene outside of the hospital. Am I the only one who thought JJS has really big hands?

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I personally think that Jun-ho has average-sized hands - not large nor small - just nice for a man. A man should have bigger hands than his woman so during handholding, the woman's hand can be enclosed securely in the man's hand.

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...and you know what they say about big hands!lol o_o

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"…and you know what they say about big hands!"

what do they say? really, i don't know, so care to share? hehehe...or is it X-rated?? hehehe...

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It's hard to find gloves. ;)

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@Jules lol

@kay yes, it's x-rated. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge920JptGEs

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*Pfff...* *Cleans coffee off of moniter and keyboard*

Seriously mind get out of the gutter... or stay there that is fine too.

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DBers are so dirty.

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hahaha...there really should be a "like" button in this page!lol

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@Jules : Hahaha!! Thank you!! That’s so funny!! :)

@Brandi : Hahaha!! Thank you for your reply and sharing of the video!! That’s even funnier!! :)

@katmoo : Hahaha!! Your words are too funny!! Thank you!! :)

@ilikemangoes : “Dbers are so dirty.” Hehehe...but we are having too much fun... :)

@thorned sakura : Hahaha!! Am totally with you on the “Like” button to be made available for us to craaazzzyyy clicking away... :)

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I understand your feelings. it's becoming dragging to me too. I hope now that everything is out, they can start making IU an idol (not an actress), I want her singing with Junho =) Sue me too!, hahahaha

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I think many of us feel that the show is dragged out way too long. 26 episodes so far, and in the last 20 it seems like Soon Shin was the only one in Korea that did not know the "Big Secret". On top of that, the idiotic grandmother, moping mothers, and other similar factors make it less enjoyable to watch. Like many others here apparently, there is a lot of fast-forwarding from viewers.

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YYYYEEESS!!! In the synopsis, it says that she is an aspiring singer, yet they keep talking about acting.
I can not wait to see Junho drool over her angelic voice :)

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All I could think about in this episode was that Soon Shin was out for a day and a half without sleeping or anyone mugging her at night, is Korea that safe?! o_O

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It is that safe, relatively speaking. I use to walk home by myself at 3 and 4 in the morning without any fear. Oddly I wouldn't dream of doing that in Florida.

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My friend recently visited Seoul and told me that the city never sleeps, even if it's 3 or 4 in the morning..

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the hand holding scene is so sweet yet so painful. JJS is very good actor. his teary eyes is so real. i can feel his pain :(

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Thanks for your hard work JavaBeans.. Totally understandable if you stop the recaps. You should only do things you enjoy doing. As much as I like this show, I find that I usually make every episode about 20 mins. Since I FF many of the scenes that I don't feel like watching.. I still like it, but I'm learning that I don't need to watch it all to like it..

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I too really appreciate the recaps and will miss them for this show if it stops. Is there any chance you guys could start threads just for episodes without recaps so we could discuss and ask questions? I enjoy people's comments and insights a lot too.

The recaps help me fill in the gaps that the subbing leaves but people here could make up for that.

How about it?

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I agree with you and also to add with the thread to have a "LIKE" Button. Just a thought.

I do come here as well to understand some underline words or non speech meanings that I couldn't get. Much appreciate your hard work, although I would miss the recaps, though do understand you as well.

Keep up the great work.

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OOh, definitely like the "LIKE" buttons. haha

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That's right, if recaps are too burdensome...maybe just a thread with your own opinion to start off the discussion? this fangirl needs a place to vent!lol

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Yes, as much as I would miss your running commentary, I understand. A thread would be a nice 3rd best.

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Same here: 20 mins/ep. Show could be written more tightly and we have annoying story lines which are too much on the front seat. It feels like a daily, at times.

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Aww, no more recaps? I guess I can understand. It's amazing I didn't throw a brick through my computer because these episodes were REALLY hard to watch, which is sad because these are pretty big moments. But it's so infuriating to see explosive reactions from people that I don't think should react that way - I mean, okay, I understand why they would, but...

it really bothered me that we got very little screen time with Soon Shin. i was like wait...this is such a huge story, and she's BARELY on screen, and all she does is mope like she's been for the last 26 episodes. I want yelling, screaming, running into Jun-ho's arms.......SOMETHING so I don't wrangle Yoo-shin and gma's necks. And Mi-ryung!! a;lfja;lsdjfa;lsdkjf SOMEONE NEEDS TO PULL HER THROUGH THE MUD. She thinks so highly of herself! Someone needs to pull her down before I can sympathize for her.

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I know what you mean! As much as I want a happy ending for everyone, I reallyreallyreally hope Mi-ryung twists in the wind a good while before any reconciliation with her daughter. She deserves it.

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i'd rather have her die a sad, lonely death!wahaha

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thanks for the recap!

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no more recap? :( but yeah... you got your point about this show being more enjoyable as viewer than as a recapper. i find myself skipping a lot of the ajumma's scenes (all scenes with halmeonni and yijung are literally useless too watch). in fact, there are a few things that i just found out from reading your recap than watching, lol.

why oh why are there so many mean, selfish characters in this drama? it's just getting too much, too "makjang" for my taste, and needs to be toned down a little bit.

the only thing that keeps me watching this show is IU and JJS! IU's performance doesn't disappoint and i find myself even forgetting that she is actually a singer. JJS has grown so much in me. the way he portray this character is amazing. he is such a wonderful actor!

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"i find myself skipping a lot of the ajumma’s scenes (all scenes with halmeonni and yijung are literally useless too watch). in fact, there are a few things that i just found out from reading your recap than watching, lol."

YES! ME TOO! :D

"the only thing that keeps me watching this show is IU and JJS! IU’s performance doesn’t disappoint and i find myself even forgetting that she is actually a singer. JJS has grown so much in me. the way he portray this character is amazing. he is such a wonderful actor!"

ME TOO!!! 100% AGREE! :D

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Me agrees too.

I skip all the melo parts as well... especially the meanie parts BUT I do think they are reasonably justified to be there. People turn mean to protect themselves, I think and is the most natural response to how we respond with things we find it hard to accept, at least this is what I think.

When we cannot find answers, we blame on things to find reasons.

JJS already impressed me in K2H and now in this drama - I am watching this show because of him and IU too! Cannot wait to watch how their relationship will play out...

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Aw about the possible discontinuation of the recaps :( but I also understand about the time and writing that they demand.

Glad that the secret is finally out. I love Soon-shin's reaction and - I must admit - Yoo-shin getting slapped. And of course Bread Man continues to be a highlight. The look on Woo-joo's face in the screencap was priceless.

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Thanks so much for the recaps, Javabeans + Girlfriday.

So sad to hear you may not be recapping anymore. :-(

I always look forward to your recaps and was over the moon when I saw you chose this show because I knew it'd be good coming from you.

I'm hoping more than anything that the drama gets good enough, not just for me as a viewer, but for you because I enjoy your recaps too much.

Anyways, thanks again for the great recaps.

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JJS is very good actor. Thank you for your recaps.

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Omg get the girl and kiss her already ! WaAHH Its so frustrating ! Are u going to wait till it's ep 49 ! Ah can't wait to see so affection from soon shin's side ! But she is busy now which makes it double good
But who is her father ?! If it's not dad ! Could he be dr.dad and what abt Jun ho is he her sibling ! Ahhhh secrets I wish he is too adopted ! Hh

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"Omg get the girl and kiss her already !"

YES! I'm totally with you on that one. Guess we have to wait on that, though. Le sigh! I want to see more on LSS's end before that happens, though. Now that we're FINALLY done with all the birth secret stuff, I hope that means we're going to get to what people actually want and there will be plenty of LSS and JH scenes to enjoy.

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that's true...right now, we are seeing SJH falling for her but for LSS, apart from those momentary unconscious stares, nothing yet. I want to see her want SJH as much as he wants her!:)

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Thanks for the recaps so far! I can see how it's. better drama to watch than recap. I love it, but have definitely skipped some scenes, which you can't do while recapping, and I'm sure must feel like torture with all the horrible misplaced and just stupid angst in parts.

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I've already been impressed with IU's acting, but her performance really impressed me in episode 26, especially the last scene with her mom. Even without subtitles, I was bawling my eyes out with her.

The secret actually came out a lot earlier than I expected, but I'm glad it finally did. I think now that the secret is out, we can finally focus more on relationship and character development, which is what I love most about this show. The development is done really well and because it's a longer show, you can really see the gradual change in each character. Everyone keeps saying that the drama is way too draggy and long, but I actually like that it takes awhile for things to unfold.

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I like the 'slow' development as well, but I feel like they're just cramming too much angst into one episode. It's easy to get tired of people lashing out at eachother for reasons that are difficult to understand, and it's also easy to want to skip scenes with characters whose only goal in life seems to be to spout nonsense. Especially when the non-angsty parts can be so incredibly good, like they are/were in this drama.

Even so, I'm still enjoying the drama a lot~ And I'm curious as to what will happen next now the secret's out.

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The scenes featuring grandma and Chan Wu's mom makes me cringe. I need to hit the fast forward button everytime. I just hope that now the birth secret is out (thanks to all th characters who just can't keep any secret), the story will speed up and become more exciting. I need to see more Soon Shin and Jun Ho together in scenes per episode please...

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my fav. scenes from these 2 episodes were all jun ho scenes. in my eyes these episodes 100% showed how much he truly loves soon shin. both scenes where he gets drunk from feeling helpless (I actually liked that he was drinking first thing in the morning it seemed very believable to me), him looking all over for her, him yelling at her first thing when she finally calls because he was so worried, and last taking her hand at the hospital... not once did it show him worried about mi ryung or even his career, all he cared about was soon shin and how she was feeling and if she was ok. loved it

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If you think about it, ever since he signed on Soon Shin, he has been going out of the way to further her career, without any regards to his own reputation / career at stake!

I guess Junho's character in this drama is a man who can do everything in the name of love - extremely loyal and willing to go through hardships all for the sake of his loved one...

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Thank god for captioning because I hit the mute button the minute Chicken Ajumma and/or Worst Grandma Ever (WGE) come onscreen. Ditto for Yi-jung - and Imma wishing there was a mute red button too to tone down that dye job. I'm this ][ close to doing it with Yoo-shin when she gets all shrill up someone's nose for all the wrong reasons. Sure, the Daddy you loved best who loved the maknae best "seems" to have cheated on Mom - so you take it out on Mom? Where's the sense of kindred womanhood? WGE doesn't have any of that, so clearly she takes after her! Chan-woo oppa, run! It's not a case of the daughter taking after her mom, you could be married to the WGE in 30 years!

But... Jo Jung-seok really delivers. His facial expressions are a study in perfection - I could watch him react to anything for hours. It's those eyes - when he blinks, or the eyes flick upwards, or look sideways - he slays me. (And it's not so much that he has big hands, I think, but that IU has teeny paws - but yeah, the contrast was striking.)

At first I thought Kim Gap-soo's Dr. Shin and Jo Jung-seok's Jun-ho were kind of cold jerks to their female family members, but now I'm thinking that they're model saints of patience and forbearance. The self-absorption and stalkerishness of both mother and daughter (because mom's more than a little obsessive about Mi-ryung too, don't you think - feeding off her celebrity?) make me want to hurl things at them.

Their awfulness makes Jeong-ae look like a paragon - especially now that she's resolved to fight for her daughter and put the past behind her - hurt or no hurt. And IU did a very good job indeed with her performance in this last episode indeed.

Now, lessee... what have we got to fill the 2nd half? My prediction: Mi-ryung's boozing is going to have consequences. Will she be looking for an organ donor? We've got Dad to out too. And oh yeah, please, let's have a Soon-shin and Jun-ho duet or solos, okay?

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Second half - Soon-shin on the quest for revenge against her birth mother and becoming an actress as shrewd / talented as Miryung perhaps...

Be prepared for some dark character developments, I guess ^^

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I want to tie up and gag every single one of the women you named in the first paragraph. Just thinking about them makes me roll my eyes and want to grind my teeth. I really, really, really want someone to stand up to Yi-jung and tell her, in no uncertain terms, she's an annoying pain in the ass who needs to grow the hell up, get a life, and grasp that when someone says 'no', they mean 'no'. If you continue to pursue them after that, it's harassment and it isn't attractive or cute (I'd really like for someone to get that across to the writers as well). Dr. Shin really needs to ship her back to New York. The Shin men are definitely models of patience for putting up with Stalker Mom and Yi-jung. I'd be cold and distant from women like that as well.

Chan-woo can definitely needs to run--straight to me. ;D I was SO THRILLED when Mom slapped YS this week. It's about time someone did! Her constant casual cruelty floors me, and I truly don't understand why CW is attracted to her. Maybe he doesn't know her as well as he thought he did.

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I've got nothing to say about WGE, except that she needs to realize not everything is about HER, even if she's an 'elderly'.

About Yoo-shin though, I can sorta kinda maybe understand where she's coming from. I think she just really cares about her mom and is incredibly angry at her dad for 'betraying' her mom (I srsly wish they'd give that a second thought though, instead of simply believing he cheated), and is angry at her mom for letting herself be 'taken advantage of'. That kind of anger is... kindof similar to when a mother gets angry at her child/teenager when they've done something stupid or dangerous? It's mostly because they're worried? It's a weird kind of anger while you're mad at others because they're hurting themselves and you can't do anything about it.

Still, the way she's handling it is kindof ugh. I mean, she said some things that were just... mean. I know she didn't mean it, but still. Some things she said about Soon-shin just can't be justified.

But I can't really hate her. She's just very independent and can't stand (seeing others) being taken advantage of, and part of me admires that in her, since nobody else seems to have a lot of spine to stand up for themselves. So I don't think Chan-woo should give up on her yet - he might be able to keep her in check. Eventually. Maybe.

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Thanks for the recap JB.

On one hand it is a big relief to know Dad is not 'the Dad' but it makes me think that once Granny knows there's no blood connection to her beloved son she'll want LSS out for good.

Think YS just wants her youngest position stealer out for good.

Poor CW. Hope a non-messed up woman steps in to show him that not all women are wacko or emotionally up the wazoo.

Breadman did well this week.

Sad JH's mom had to be b#$ch in disguise.

When I was watching the eps raw my dramafeed stopped just at the time JH had taken LSS's hand so I was stuck staring at his face for 5 minutes. It's a hard life;)

Look forward to JH getting with his feelings and LSS falling for him though getting there will probably take us the next 15 eps:(

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I don't feel sorry for CW. He's needs grow a backbone and stop interacting with Yi-jung, block her message from his phone, etc. That stream of messages on his phone was ridiculous. Change your phone number, get a stalking order – his passive non-responsiveness and politeness is only encouraging Yi-jung. I would be upfront with my boss if his child was harassing me like that, and if he doesn't get it, I'd rather start looking for another job.

Honestly, I don't understand Yi-jung at all. If someone tells you, "No, I'm not interested", "No, I've got a girlfriend", "Please don't do this anymore" and you conclude he's just being hesitant/shy/etc.??? Doesn't it compute her brain she's asking him either to cheat or break up with his girlfriend, and if a guy is willing to act like that, that says a lot about his character, i.e. he wouldn't do something like that FOR you but also TO you?

YS overreacts, but I feel like we've seen enough of her good side to still like her. Actually, I think CW needs some of her confrontational-ness and use it in his life.

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I think that's why they make a good couple~ CW needs to grow a spine, but YS needs some of CW's patience, and think a little before she speaks. They have a lot to learn from eachother.

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I was just thinking that this morning!

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Dear JB,

I hope that there will still be recaps -- I always enjoy reading your take of things and it gives me a clearer understanding of the story.

I really hope that you continue to do it. But if you decide not to, just send out a message because I do check out your site several times a day just to see if you've done the recap.

Thanks for sharing your sharp and funny thoughts -- it makes is so much more fun to watch Kdramas.

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I'll miss the recaps if they end, but I completely understand why you might stop doing them. Hopefully the show will kick up the romance & tone down the non-stop angst, so recapping will be a pleasure once more!

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Hello,thank you for all the recaps on this drama. Have been eagerly waiting for your comment every week. Love the show very much but too little soon shin/joon ho time in my time. Sad though that you might not be recapping any more.

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I completely understand too!! I too feel that whatever love I had for the characters kinda draining away by this week's episodes.... the mud slow movements of the story, the ridiculously annoying granny, mothers, sisters, are just way too much... and Junho one of my shining lights in the drama is just spending waaay too much time moping around, looking helpless and entangling me in a web of angst that I do not care for...

I get that relationships develop slowly in a weekend drama, but I guess the highlights of the show are when breadman Jinwook shows up on screen, and when Soon shin told MiRyung coldly not to contact her anymore, which is satisfying because earlier she had retorted to Jun ho that ANYONE would be so happy to be her daughter, and she will give her all kinds of money, opportunities to marry well etc, that shows just how pathetic she is, not knowing or understanding what it takes to be a mother.

Maybe I would stock up on more episodes to watch at one go later on, because chasing this drama at an ant crawl every weekend is just not gratifying. Thanks my dear javabeans and girlfriday for keeping the recaps coming for so long, and if you do stop, we will love it if you really do a wrap up when it does end. MUACKS! ♥

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You said it better than I could. There is just so much "over the top" reacting, especially by the WGE and moms, that it has long since passed the point of being annoying. Following this plot is like watching paint dry, one of the draggiest K-dramas I have seen for a long time. And it is hard to write recaps for paint drying or grass growing....

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I really HATE halmoni. Srly, when is she gonna die? First, she treated Soon Shin like crap all her young life. At one point, even willing to give her away and mad at mom for being in any way nice to the daughter she raised. Now she knows that's really her granddaughter, then she tried to be fake nice to her. Then, she acts like a total raging b*tch to the mother, when she is clearly grieving. Oh yeah, then she was rude as hell to Hye-Shin, saying it's her fault her marriage failed. I can't anymore. Halmoni, peace out.

I'm ready for SS and JH to fall in love already.

Thanks for the recaps, so far. I understand how tiring it can be to recap long series, lets' face it. Very little has happened until now. The rest is really just angst and filler.

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I keep hoping lol When would she die?? and Chan Woo's mum as well. But the probability of granny dying is faster than CW's mum. So that the other characters can live peacefully.

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Love love love this show :D
Thank you for the recaps~<3

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Haha, well I am not interested in those melo teary scenes and just skip over them... I'm more interested in the little lighthearted moments in between and the budding romance between Soon Shin and Junho.

I really like his character development and Soon Shin is developing along quite nicely too. But I think I can guess how she may want to get 'revenge' on her birth mother... what better way than to be a better more famous actress than the woman who abandoned her?

Junho can definitely help her with that :)

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Thanks for the recap.

By the way, was I the only one who noticed that Yeon-ah pissed off costume and make-up this week. Her costuming was not flattering and her foundation was GREY! It wasn't my computer since everyone else looked human--while that character looked like an extra undead from a vampire movie.

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Ugliest outfit EVER! Gah, she looked bad.

On another note, what is up with Yi Jungs lips? The color is always as bad as her hair. Terrifying....

Lastly, those two darlings need to sing already!

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I can completely understand the annoyance in recapping the scenes that actually we fast forward while watching.....

Same here...as soon as we get the chicken shop scenes or yi jung...automatically my hand goes for the fast forward button :-D

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oooh...maybe SJH will make an event where he can sing to her to make her feel better? waaaah

...then, she will join in the singing and BAM! talent discovered!waaaah

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thanks for the recaps n the fair warning of possible discontinuation.

the 2 episodes were heart wrenching n eveyone getting out of sort except for MR.

JJS n IU did good. job. I really feel bad for JH with his inability to protect LSS from the world of hurt but glad to see his feelings evolve.

HAHA!!! YH wrote himself into the show in Ep 25!! Let consoling of LSS begin!

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Hi!

First of all, i have just discovered this site and i am devouring everything in it. for someone who is not from korea and is not familiar with korean society and the culture, (i'm from the Philippines) everything here helps understand the context of the drama.

there are also scenes in the drama which were not translated or subbed (like street signs and others). because of the recap, i learned that Bread Man was holding a prep book when he and Hye-Shin met at a bookstore. i wondered then what was so embarrassing with the book he was holding. many thanks to that!

i watch this show because i LOVE IU even way back in dream high. its nice to know she can act also.

you're doing a fine job there! thanks much!

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He was trying to hide the book because it was a University prep book and he felt embarrassed to start college later than usual.

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I really hate it the way k-dramas treat adoption like a lesser form of parent-child connection.

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As an adoptive parent I agree.

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Me, too. I actually have a closer relationship with my adoptive daughter that I do with my birth daughter.

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see? Parents have this need to give more love to the adoptive kids, making their other kids feel not loved and have some resentment against each other.

Like YS has agaisnt LSS. She was the mankae before LSS came and get all the attention, even if she worked hard, had a nice job and didn't give trouble to the family, the father and mother were all about ''LSS, LSS'' so, YS feels cast aside, people say she is annoying with LSS, but truth is LSS gave the family trouble a lot (by not having a job already, by being conned etc) I didn't see anything wrong with YS asking LSS to work hard and find a job.

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you're right, from YS's point of view, everything was taken away from her when LSS came in the picture...and that is totally understandable coz even in real siblings, its the middle child who usually gets this type of issue, especially when they they have a wide age gap with the youngest child. So, imagine that plus the fact the LSS is not even her real sister...its not really that difficult to understand her attitude towards LSS. I'm not saying its right, but I understand her psyche.

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I totally agree.

I do not like the message they are sending about adoption – they are making it very negative, like a "lesser" something indeed.

It upsets me – because all the adoptees I've met (a childhood neighbour, a classmate) made me think from when I was a toddler it's everything but that.

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" It’s a little like digging for clams..." Yes! The moments of interaction between Soon shin and Jun-ho make the episodes worth watching when all they give us is angst. I also love Bread Man and the love lines of the sisters, but those moments are very good.
I am very calm about the slow development of the romance, but thats maybe because, as you rightly said, I skip all the annoying parts. Like quickbrownfox, I dont watch all the parts involving the Grandma, the Chicken Ahjumma and her husband, Mom alone, The whole family of Jun-ho (except if he is with them or if something important is happening) I used to like his mom, but now... So in the end I watch 3/4 or even half of the episode.
When they finally admit their feelings or something happen in that the department, could you write a weecap? I really love reading your thoughts.
Im excited for the next episode, because by giving baby steps, Jun-ho is realizing his feelings, and I would love to watch him jealous.
Yoo-shin,ugh. I already liked her, but when she is angry, she is blind (aren t we all? but she is really blind),
Its kind of imprssive the way Mi-ryung thinks, impressive in the way of "Are you that selfish?" But at the same time is interesting to watch her in action.

Thank you for te recap!

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You're the Best, Lee Soon-Shin is just dragging on and on... I really think that they put too many characters in there in particular the granny. I always fast forward the sections where granny is in, I find her very unnecessary and useless, she does nothing for the other characters. I do however love Bread Man, Javabeans you should mention *spoiler* how Woo Joo throws a tantrum at Bread Man calling her his daughter.
Also, if you are going to recap a different drama, may I suggest, I summon you gold? It is a weekend drama, but the story is just getting better and better. The whole "DRAMA" is what Lee Soon Shin is supposed to be. Anyways if you could recap I Summon You Gold (not just because it has the vampire ahjussi) but there is some fantastic acting and a great storyline. Pwetty Please Javabeans or anyone from the Dramabeans :)

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I really hope they kill off the grandma, soon! They had so many chances to give her a heart attack or something. Such a disgusting being (I left out the human part intentionally). So many characters are plain outrageous and a complete caricature that I really regret not knowing enough swear words in English so I can express my feelings.
About I summon you gold! OMG that drama is pure Gold!(pun intended kkk). That's a dysfunctional family drama done right. The majority of the characters are so nuanced, I just love seeing the story unfold. I'll just say this, the maknae couple became accidentally the couple I care about the most, so looking forward to their development! But the problem is the torture already started, 4 raw episodes with no sign of new subbs! And there are so many episodes left! I'm already going crazy here! If anyone(that knows Korean and English that is) picks up this drama for recapping I'll probably do an 1h happy dance!
Am I the only one that doesn't know where to find the subs, or is it really nobody left to sub this drama?

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I'm really enjoying "I Summon You, Gold" and agree that the cast and acting is great. Recaps would be like the cherry on top!

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I just found out that they finally subbed ep 15... I really have no idea what happened coz the crappy shows are getting subbed faster lol as a result i wasted 2gig watching nail shop paris (coz I summon You Gold couldn't come out faster!)
usually drama crazy.net or k24h.com has the subs faster than other sites.

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First and foremost, I would like to thank both Javabeans and Girlfriday for the recaps so far. I am probably one of the many who are sad--no, in distress--to find out that you are putting off recapping this show but I do understand your case. I was even surprised that you decided to pick up this drama when you did, considering the commitment it would take for this project. So once again, thank you sooooo much for your hardwork!!! We all love you!!! :))

That being said, let me go on now to the juicy parts!lol

These past two episodes are both satisfying and heartbreaking for me. I love how everyone remains in their character despite the dramatic plot shift--Angsty grandma remains to be angsty grandma, Self-absorbed MR remains to be self-absorbed, and breadman stays as awkward, comical breadman!lol Usually in dramas like this, when big secrets are revealed, the baddies suddenly repent and everyone takes a 180 degree character shift, so I really appreciate the YS is projecting her hurt on mom and LSS AND CW coz projecting is what she does best and despite some comments regarding HS's supposed OOC reaction a couple of episodes back, I actually think it was very in character of her, considering she's the eldest in the family...so, special hands up to the writers for sticking true to their characters' profiles!

I love the slow build up that this show is doing, it makes everything feel so real AND makes me feel WITH the drama! When mom was trying to keep all the birth secret all to herself while being angry at the world, I felt her frustrations. When SJH was feeling so useless and at a loss when LSS left (for lack of a better word)him without understanding why he's feeling that way, I felt his inner conflict. And now that the secret is out, I feel how everyone is crying on the inside for their own individual reasons. Its these layers and emotions that we get from each character that makes this drama really good despite the virtually predictable plot.

Also, I think I've said this a hundred times already but let me just reiterate again how I absolutely LOOOOVVVVEEEE what JJS is doing for his character!I am amazed at how he can say sooo many things with just so little lines!And the handholding? Sweetest and probably one of the most down-to-earth scenes I've ever seen in kdramaland. IU has also proved to be a very effective actress. I remember her mentioning in "Happy Together" that JJS gave her an advise during their earlier filming, and that is to "act sincerely". I guess the advise really did pay off---oh, and they should marry and make a dozen multi-talented babies! i no longer care about their age gap!lol

Lastly, can I check with you guys as to how you watch the episodes? I'll be in Phuket by end of this June, which I was really excited about--until I realized I won't be able to watch LSS over the weekend!So can anyone recommend a fast streaming site for me please? Thanks!!!

Phew, this is probably the longest post I've done, but I was trying to cram everything in since we might not have recaps next week :( By the way, if there won't be any recaps for next weekend, are we allowed to post our spoiler thoughts here? heeeeee :))

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Hi there, thorned sakura! ;)

I echo your every thought on the sadness of JB ceasing recaps for this drama and also about the need for a place for me to vent my thoughts on the upcoming episodes of the drama when that happens. ;(

I also agree with every word you said abt the eps 25 and 26 and how I wish for more JH and LSS moments. ;)

I don't know of any live streaming site of the drama so can't help you there. Hopefully someone who does know of a such a site reads your comment and can give you the answer you need. ;)

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hahaha...i knew I was gonna hear from you sooner or later. my fangirl radar sensed it!lol

"I also agree with every word you said abt the eps 25 and 26 and how I wish for more JH and LSS moments. "

-well, since the birth secret is already out of the way (almost!) I'm hoping there will be more SJH-LSS next weekend. Honestly, I'm curious as to how they are going to play the romance bit coz right now, both our main OTP just has sooo much to deal with that it seems impossible for them to get together. I'm guessing SJH--being the daft person that he is--will still be thinking that his over-the-top concern for LSS is due to his guilt blah blah and if it was another actor, I probably be so frustrated right now but HE got me believing in the character's logic. JJS is really one gem of an actor!

Anyway, any thoughts on YH character? Him being adopted didn't really come as a shock to me coz i read his character profile before, plus if I remember correctly, SJH already asked him regarding his birth mom before and how he truly was korean though he grew up in the US. My query though is more on the lovelines. I personally don't see him harbouring any romantic feelings toward LSS. He's more of a big brother type of character and I would like him to remain that way. Of course, that doesn't mean SJH wouln't be threatened by his presence in LSS life. I think his purpose is actually someone that will ideally be a good match for LSS with whom SJH can't help but compare himself to.Eventually, i think the show is aiming for SJH getting insecure about LSS-YH closeness especially now that YH and LSS share somewhat similar circumstances --with both of them being adopted.I can't wait to see how this will once again kill SJH!lol

...but then again that's all just guessing on my part. We'll have to actually wait and see how the drama will play this out.

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Dear thorned sakura

My apologies for not replying to your comment earlier....siiiggghhhh...life intervened my fangirling over here...hehe...anyhow, here is my reply :

I totally agree with you abt how I am interested to know how the romantic development between SJH and LSS will be played out becos of everything and everyone else around them that are exploding every which way...

and I agree that, considering this is a 50-something episode drama, we will still have to ENDURE several more episodes of SJH and LSS being apart...

with SJH struggling to deal with his emotions for LSS, torn between his head and his heart –

his head telling him to respect LSS’s wish for him not to bother about her and her life and his head telling him that he needs to make amends for his mistake -

and his heart and the developing feelings he has for LSS that compel him to instinctively run to her the moment he knows she is facing difficulty but being the clueless-dork-with-a-giant-guilty-conscience that he is, he does not realise what his instincts and actions are telling him about the way he feels about LSS and so he will continue to stumble and fumble his way through the mandatorily-torturous few more episodes...

till the writer and PD decide it is time to put SJH – and us, the viewers – out of our misery and FINALLY allow the two souls, that are destined-to-be-together-from-the-beginning-but-have-to-torture-them-first-because-the-PD-enjoys-it, to confess their feelings and have their happily-ever-after-cuter-than-kittens-in-a-teacup moments for them, and us, the viewers, to savour those moments with them...hehehe...

And I agree that if not for Jo Jung Seok’s superb acting as SJH, I would probably have stopped watching this drama 10 episodes ago...he is such a marvel to watch...

As for Young Hoon, I agree totally with your thoughts and feelings about his character –

he is like a soothing balm for LSS’s soul every time LSS experienced a knock from the insanity going on around her coming from every which way...

and I do prefer him to remain being the gentle, kind, generous, understanding brotherly-figure in LSS’s life instead of being subjected, or rather relegated, to being the-one-whose-love-is-unrequited if he is pulled by the drama writer and PD into a senseless love triangle with SJH and LSS...

YH deserves to win the girl that he loves because he is such a wonderful man and I think I will murder the writer and PD if he is made to become the-one-whose-love-is-unrequited in this drama!!!!

But I am fine with YH being so close to LSS that we will see SJH being subjected to several more episodes of stewing-in-his-shoes and looking forlornly (and so adorably) at LSS from afar, yearning and wishing (but not realising why) HE is the one LSS smiles and laughs so brightly and happily with, instead of YH...hehehe...

I absolutely looove how sad and lost SJH looks every time he glances and gazes at LSS from afar because it just reinforces my belief that he has fallen-so-hard-for-LSS-its-amazing-he-doesn’t-have-a-gigantic-bump-on-his-head-by-now and I am so looking forward to seeing how he will win LSS’s heart in the end...because, you know, its a foregone conclusion, considering this IS supposed to be a happily-ever-after drama, right?
Right, Show? Right, PD?
Cos if not...then...MAKE WAY!!!
Here I come with pitchforks and swords to stab-you-till-you-bleed-dry!!!!! Yahhhh!!!! Hahaha!!!!

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I understand as well. I feel I sit watching the episode for the two minutes of screen time jun-ho and soon-shin have together. I know they are in an angsty period right now, but can't they do it together? If for no other reason than awkward jun-ho? I normally don't do long shows either but how could I not watch Jo Jung Suk!!! Even if you decide to stop recapping I'm going to keep watching. Maybe instead of recapping you could do highlights. Woo-joo let bread man take her hand for a whole 5 seconds!!! And Jun-ho ever so gently and sweetly took soon-shins hand!!! Or not but Thanks for today's recap anyway!

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i am of the opposite end... i am beginning to be more appreciative and getting addicted as each week goes by. i am waiting for SS to start her entertainment career. and while i so want to hear IU sing, i think their going to make her an idol.

and man! i didn't know Pilsuk had it in her. that scene in the hospital with MR was awesome. just the right balance of suppressed anger and hurt. she was better in that scene than the veteran actress she was playing the scene out with. when she stepped out of the room, you can actually feel the adrenaline seeping out of her. great acting!

i hope javabeans, that you continue to recap. i keep a look-out for your recap of this drama every week.

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I'm loving Jo Jung-suk hard core. He was always such a good actor, but I love the depth he brings to Jun-ho.

But mad props to IU for that closing scene in episode 26. That was, by far, her best performance yet. I've seen the episode more than once and it still brings me to tears.

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Empathy. Sincerity. There's something about the way IU acts certain scenes...and sings certain songs... that is so powerful.

I cried too.

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yes, IU really did deliver these last two episodes. I noticed she really does well in scenes where she has someone to do the scenes with--kind of responsive--as compared to scenes she has to do alone. Of course, that is understandable as she is still considered a newbie, compared to the rest of the cast who are much more experienced than her. I guess it helps as well that she does the heavier scenes with veteran actresses and actors, as they are able to guide her acting.

JJS though is a different story altogether. He is such an amazing method actor! and despite the similarity of his hairstyle now with that of his K2H character, I don't see ESK at all in his portrayal. He has totally become SJH to me! He's like one of the really rare gems among the hundred pretty stones in kdrama industry and I'm really praying for more offers and more opportunities for him coz he's one of the very few who truly deserves it!

Together, they make one great OTP pairing that people can't help but root for. I'm also surprised at how good their chemistry is. I haven't been as excited with a pairing since the inna-hyunwoo pairing in QIHM (and we all know how that ended :)) But this pairing just makes you wish they could be more--at least in the drama--coz I'm not sure IU's ahjussi fans are ready for her to be stolen from them yet!lol

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I echo everyone's thoughts and feelings on our gratitude for your wonderful recaps, Javabeans. ;)

I look forward to reading them because of the humour and insight you inject into every episode that makes reading the recaps so much more enjoyable and entertaining. ;)

I understand how difficult it must be for you to recap a drama that can test a person's patience and forbearance to the absolute limit because I myself have trouble watching every minute of the episodes because of the overly-dramatic moments and utterly purposeless and senseless whining, ranting, screaming, delusional and self-absorbing moments, when what the viewers really want (I am sure) are the interactions and romantic development between Jun-ho and Soon Shin.

So THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for your time, effort and commitment to recapping this drama for as long as you have. I am really going to miss reading your humorous insights. :(

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I'm amazed at how much love the JJS-IU pairing is getting, considering not too long ago people were concerned about the age gap and all that. I guess this truly validates how good they are at their roles coz they are just making EVERYBODY anticipate the day SJH and LSS finally admit their feelings first to themselves, and then to each other! heeee :)

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YES, YES, YES, a million times YES, thorned sakura!!! ;)

You read my mind!! It never fails to amaze me that age is something some people choose to focus on. Age is after all just a number. And in the case of Jo Jung Seok and IU, the age difference of about 10 years is a non-issue for me because to begin with they are both ACTORS, and in the acting world especially, so many actors play characters that are may be years younger or older...so I wonder why it is an issue in the first place...

what's more Jo Jung Seok is so youthful-looking for his age, and his features are more adorable than rugged, that next to IU who is of course cute and youthful, he looks just perfect, that I have never noticed the age gap, right from the beginning... ;)

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i guess because 13 years is a whole lot of age difference that could totally become a hindrance in their chemistry if they were not good enough actors. Luckily its JJS we're talking about!hehe

Anyway, one more day to go!waaah...I am literally stalking this page already!lol

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"Luckily its JJS we’re talking about"

Here, here!! Aye, aye!! Agree a gazillion times over!!! :)

As for stalking this page - I am right there, stalking with you, sister!! Hahaha!! :)

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Yeah I kinda see this recap dropping coming and I completely understand since my interest for this drama also dissipates more and more these days when the angst doesn't seem to end. The only reason I'm still checking it for time to time is to see Jun Ho and Soon Shin together plus the Bread Man. That amount to, what, 10 mins of the drama? *sigh*

Bring the cute back, Drama

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thank you so much for the recaps
it' sad that we may not seeing you recapping YTBLSS
but really thank you for what you've done

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I find it so fascinating how YooShin is so cynical of basically EVERYTHING.

She's so cynical of men. She's so cynical of SoonShin. She's so cynical of the 'friendship' between her mother and ChanWoo's mother. She's so cynical of what her colleagues will say if they ever found out that she has a boyfriend. I mean, come on, I bet most office ladies have boyfriends if not husbands.

She's like this one huge ball of distrust and suspicion, like there's a Great Wall of YooShin surrounding her 360 degrees 24/7.

She's acting like an anti-heroine that was spurned real bad by a former lover, which I don't think ever happened to her before. She is so ready to denounce anyone who disturbs the status quo, like she's sure someone is going to rob something away from her.

She is so independent and afraid to lean on someone that it seems like she has trust and self-esteem issues, which frankly is intriguing to me. She has a seemingly loving family so I don't know where all these problems came from and it's disturbing how no one recognizes her insecurities, even ChanWoo. (yeah, he sees past her 'no no no' bluff but he doesn't actually seem to understand why she's acting all prickly and like a sad mop.)

I'm not saying what YooShin is doing now is right but there has to be something that caused her to turn out this way. But what?

I mean, normal people don't say "my dad's a 'lying cheater' so the rest of the world must be too, including you."

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I think in the character descriptions I found in soompi thread, YooShin had a traumatic experience when she was 9 years old. Apparently, their house caught on fire because YooShin and SoonShin were playing with match sticks. Then, both of them were stuck in the kitchen or something. The Mom saved SoonShin first before coming back for her, and that's why YooShin has trust issues and stuff.

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Nooo, dont stop recaping, I need you and your recaps. Pleaseeee!!!

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Thank you for the recaps. I look forward to it every week.

This weekend, to repeat my phrase again, the drama has some of the worst female characters. Seriously, I can't even like them.

JJS or Jun Ho on the other hand, is a joy to watch. All because of his growing attachment for Soon Shin. I think if it was any other actor I probably wouldn't care as much for the storyline. His emotions are just so clear to see. Man it hurts when Jun Ho hurts.

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I agree with you totally!! JJS as Jun-ho is, in my humble opinion, perfection in execution. So utterly fascinating and absorbing just scrutinising his every facial expression that are so spot-on that I can really feel his emotions in every second of his acting...such an amazingly-talented actor!! ;)

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Jun ho is a delight. I can so feel his pain – it's amazing. Yep, it hurts very much when he hurts.

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"Man it hurts when Jun Ho hurts."

God! I couldn't have said it better!hahaha...

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Hi JB,
any possibilty of WeeCaps? Focussin mainly on things v care about, and then one or two lines to know abt the other stuff generally "in other news,....."???

No pressure, jus askin...

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I love the WeeCaps idea! (Great name for it too!) JB and GF, you've helped me immeasurably with my new found love for KDrama. I'm having difficulty letting you let go of LSS recaps entirely. Please don't make me face the world of LSS alone. Thanks for all your hard work!

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Thank you for the recaps :) It was a delight to read them and remember every event with a drop of critique. So thank youuuuu :)

Since I skip some scenes (e.g. with chicken-family), I don't feel that the series are dragging too much. On the contrary, I am used to dramas keeping secrets forever until the end and this big revealing was quite quick . Or perhaps I feel so because I didn't want this reveal to be the most important point in the drama (I dreamed that acting part (Soo-Shin becoming an actress) would be a priority...)
Nevertheless, I love all the scenes with our main pair. <3 And I really liked that scene where real mom acted Her worrying about the daughter while the (not)Real mom actually showed her caring and was here for her, ready to console... Really points out who can be called mother after all.

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this show is a good watch, and i would love continued recaps, but i totally get it.

jo jungseok... guuuhh. love him.

and BREAD MAN! i friggin love him. he makes me laugh so hard. sweet dude.

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Thanks for the recap. If you want to stop or provide overviews over a large span of episodes, feel free; I appreciate the heads up. I do enjoy your commentaries like how Chan-woo should maybe just let Yoo-shin go and the massive eye-rolls that this drama induces. I missed a few episodes where apparently Soon-shin's mom came to her senses and now supports Soon-shin. It made it hard to be sympathetic towards her when she was yelled at. I was a bit too happy to see her be on the other side of the shouting matches.

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I truly enjoy reading the insightful reactions that are posted after the recaps on this website. Thank you to those who recap and those who comment. :)

I've noticed that many have spoken about fast forwarding in response to various characters in the drama. I think I understand: It's not that the actors or actresses are inadequate and therefore not capable of holding the viewers' attention, but rather that they're so successful projecting heavy, selfish, and anguished emotions that the viewer is left feeling these too... Too much in one episode saps one's energy. It leaves a taste of melancholy, depression, and to think of those characters is to give power to those feelings within ourselves - feelings that we usually try not to dwell upon.

Interestingly enough, I do not fast forward. It is fascinating to me to see how each character is so multifaceted. I enjoy the lighthearted moments tremendously, and yet the characters would not seem as real and relatable if they only showed those sides of themselves. I think it's about balance. Show heavy emotions, just don't show all characters reacting with heavy emotions for an hour. In real life, there's also hope and humor, always ready to shine through the clouds that were passing by. Perhaps this falls within the domain of the writers.

So many characters... It reminds you that all of the people around you are having equally important thoughts, emotions, and reactions. And all of those important thoughts, emotions, and reactions may be different from yours. My truth and your truth are equally valid because we have different make-ups on the inside. What matters most is how we treat one another... otherwise known as maturity, or character redemption. :)

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that's exactly how I feel about this drama, adorable! I feel that each character is a representation of the reality of the world we live in. Some will actually live off other people's scandals, Some adults are actually more childish than children, and all of us have our own insecurities and have different coping mechanisms.

I said this before but let me say it here again to prove my point. Yes, some of the characters are hateful, some are spoilt, some are awkward, but that's the reason why I love this drama--because all of them seem real! Even the antagonist have their own backstory to justify what they do, and I'd much rather have that than see a drama where there are a lot of nice 2d characters.

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I agree with you that the so-annoying-that-I-could-tear-my-hair-out characters are true to real life because life is full of such characters than I do not care to count or remember but since nobody and nothing in life is perfect, people's flaws and shortcomings are part of life and each and everyone of us have our own flaws, shortcomings, idiosyncracies, peculiarities and inclinations...

and it is because of such annoying characters that the good ones are more obvious and thus make us appreciate them all the more...and can also compel us to reflect on ourselves and ask ourselves if we have ever demonstrated the annoying traits and characteristics witnessed in the characters in the drama...and if so, isn't it about time we change for the better? :)

and so we just have to accept and learn to live with what we have no control over and concentrate on what we can control - our own actions - and strive our hardest to become a better person, to make tomorrow better than today, to leave this world a better place than when we entered it... :)

On a side note : I am near to tearing my hair out over ep 27!!! Arrrgghhhh!!!! And after watching the preview of ep 28???? I am THIS close to banging my hear against the wall!!! Arrrrggghhh!!! ITS PURE TORTURE!!!

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Finally another person who feels the same way that I do! What I specifically love about this drama is that it's 50 episodes. In 50 episodes, you get so much, from the development, to the detailed plot and to all the characters that make the story a whole. I guess others are so used to watching dramas that are straight to the point and 16 episodes, that I understand. It might be just me though, but with dramas that are 16 episodes, there are always moments for me that go "that was out of nowhere" or "how did that even happen?" A longer drama just explains everything so much better.

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If the birth father of Soon-shin is not her father, then I have an inkling that it might, just might be Junho's father. Wouldn't that be a hoot?! :D

My mind is definitely headed that way. Oh, just think of all the angst. Lets hope it isn't though, for our sanity and the sanity of the show.

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T_T I am also considering this possibility... and it will be overly dramatic, which I think seems to be a trend in this very drama - we see the very dramatic blaming games by almost all the female characters in this drama and the very dramatic tempers / tantrums thrown by almost every female characters as well... :(

I also hope the plot doesn't get this soapy T___T

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That was my first thought and I hope the show doesn't go there. Please oh please Drama Gods...PLEASE don't let the show go there.

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Yes yes and yes! Hahaha

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It would be hilarious, actually, if Junho was adopted too, and the fauxcest angst it would generate pre *~~big revelation~~*. OMG, the trainwreck would make me come back and watch those episodes just for giggles.

Let's hope it doesn't go there, for the sake of the actors.

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That would be nothing but a trainwreck indeed.

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I don't believe that Dr Shin is her father, though Jun Ho might spend a few episodes *thinking* that Soon Shin is his sister, which is what I suspect might happen in order to keep the two apart for a little while longer.

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hahaha...seriously though, I think this idea has already been invalidated a few episodes back when it became clear that MR and DR-sshi didn't know each other before...

...though I think an affair could be brewing between the two o_o

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