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This Week, My Wife Will Have an Affair: Episode 12 (Final)

From the beginning, This Week, My Wife Will Have an Affair has boasted a winning combination of dark humor, appealing but flawed characters, and a healthy dose of realism that’s made this show immensely watchable despite its less than savory premise of adultery. Luckily for all of us TOYCRANE fans, the show remains true to its roots until the very end — and though I’m sad to say goodbye, I’m so glad that we get to send our characters off into their new lives in the same heartfelt way that we were introduced to them.

 

 
FINAL EPISODE RECAP

We see Soo-yeon and Hyun-woo settle into life after divorce. While Soo-yeon’s busy unpacking and taking care of Joon-soo, Hyun-woo reels at the sight of anything in his house that reminds him of his separated family.

After reading through the responses to her husband’s last post on the stocks forum, Soo-yeon writes her own post, introducing herself as TOYCRANE’s cheating wife. She writes that she wants to share her side of the story and asks the internet community to blame her for their failed marriage, rather than her husband.

She says their story was typical at first: They dated, got married, and completed their little family with Joon-soo. Soo-yeon talks about the difficult decision of going back to work when Joon-soo was only a baby, saying that she didn’t want her career to end after having a child.

She recounts her struggle watching Joon-soo turn into a loner (very much like her), but adds that she didn’t have the bandwidth to deal with it. Although she tried hard to be a good mother and a good employee, she writes, she failed on both counts.

She goes on to add that her belated efforts to help Joon-soo fit in better at school mainly involved sucking up to the other moms, but it wasn’t an easy task. When she finally got the invite to the moms-only chat group, she says it felt like it was finally okay not to feel guilty.

By then, her every waking moment had been consumed with work, Joon-soo, and making sure she wouldn’t get kicked out of her mom group. She didn’t have a spare moment to herself, but she says she thought it was all okay — at least, until that fateful day she met with her soon-to-be lover, Sun-woo.

That day, Sun-woo had been two hours late to their scheduled meeting. She calls those two hours a “gift,” during which she almost finished reading an entire novel, and she says that’s when she realized she was living her life without even having two hours to spare for herself.

When she was with Sun-woo, she says she stopped thinking about her family, her work, and her responsibilities. She writes that she felt like a kid chasing after a balloon, and if her husband hadn’t discovered her at the hotel, she’d still be out wandering.

She says her relationship with Sun-woo had its ending written before it began, then affirms the rest of Hyun-woo’s posts: she was the first to suggest divorce, the first to give up on the relationship. She notes that Hyun-woo didn’t give up until the very end, and she, in contrast, remained a selfish wife.

Soo-yeon adds that surprisingly, life hasn’t changed much after the divorce. We see that Hyun-woo seems be adjusting okay as well, as he stops by a claw machine on his way home. And at the elevator in his building, his stuffed trophies in hand, he meets a pretty neighbor clutching her own claw machine prizes.

Soo-yeon finishes up her post by taking responsibility for all that’s happened. She asks the commenters to encourage Hyun-woo rather than tear him down.

Just as she’s typed her last words, the doorbell rings — it’s Hyun-woo, returning Joon-soo from a day of fun. Hyun-woo fixes a flickering light in the entryway for Soo-yeon before he goes, and Soo-yeon packs up side dishes for him to take home. All the while, the two talk comfortably, like good friends.

Yoon-ki’s sales clerk ex receives visitors on her wedding day, looking radiant — that is, until she sees Ara walk in. Ara congratulates the young woman, who’s now cowering in fear, and throws her arm around her for the commemorative photo. Before she leaves, Ara whispers something in the bride’s ear that causes her to break down in tears of despair.

Meanwhile, Yoon-ki has set up shop in the dusty basement of a worn building that attracts zero clients, and he looks as disheveled as his new office. He gets chewed out by his landlord for not being able to pay his rent, while the neighborhood ajummas gossip behind his back about how he’s a “garbage” lawyer. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Yoon-ki’s home life isn’t much better, as he now lives in a tiny ramshackle house with his Okinawa mistress. They start arguing the moment he walks in — she’s convinced that he’s still cheating, while he complains about her shopping habits. But really, their fight is about being unhappy with their new, poorer reality, and their night ends with a yelling match.

Hyun-woo can’t pass up a claw machine on his way home after noticing that all the toys are perfectly piled up on one side. Just as he slips a bill into the machine, someone calls out that the machine’s hers — and what do you know, it’s the woman he saw in his building earlier.

She pushes Hyun-woo out of the way to play her game, but her prize gets stuck right at the opening of the drop box. She’s not going home empty-handed though, so she puts her arm inside the machine and asks Hyun-woo to pull her other arm, successfully getting the doll out.

Hyun-woo trails after the woman as they walk into the lobby of their building. She recognizes him as a neighbor, then offers Hyun-woo the prize she nabbed on Hyun-woo’s dime. When she tells him she has one just like it at home, he confesses that he does too, heh.

Hyun-woo’s all smiles as he enters his place, but jumps when he finds Joon-young sitting in his living room, looking like death. Hyun-woo asks if Joon-young still hasn’t heard from Bo-young, then complains that he’d like to know what’s going on with the two of them.

In a flashback, we see that Bo-young had told Hyun-woo that she’s taking a break from work. She asked that he refrain from asking questions, then added that it’s possible she might not come back after her break. Oh no, did she just disappear?

Soo-yeon’s hanging out with her friend when she gets a call from Hyun-woo to ask her what kind of detergent he should buy. Soo-yeon’s friend amusedly remarks that it seems like Soo-yeon and Hyun-woo are still married, and wonders if they’ll get back together. Soo-yeon smiles at that, but says they won’t.

At the store, Hyun-woo finds the right kind of detergent, but is annoyed to find that it comes in a pack of two. He’s in the middle of trying to get one out of the pack when he notices someone doing the same next to him: his fellow claw machine fan and neighbor.

The two end up splitting some bulk items back at their apartment complex, where they each establish that they’re divorced and living alone. Changing the subject, the woman asks if Hyun-woo’s seen the claw machine with frying pans inside — she needs one, but she’d rather win one than buy one.

Yoon-ki tearfully looks at photos of Ara living it up on his social media feed, then heads off to his new side job as a chauffeur. After his shift ends, he tucks the money he earned in his sock before heading home.

But when he opens the door to his place, it’s empty, with no signs of his Okinawa mistress. It looks like she took all their stuff and left town with the security deposit, and doesn’t answer when Yoon-ki calls her.

With nowhere else to go, he heads to his office with a lone bag of his possessions. His key doesn’t work, though — the landlord there has since changed the locks, citing Yoon-ki’s failure to pay rent.

Joon-young walks down a dusty road, thinking back to a conversation he had with Bo-young: she’d asked him to stop cornering her about the baby, telling him that she might run away otherwise. Joon-young comes to a stop when he sees a familiar figure on the immediate road below — it’s Bo-young. Yay, he found her.

She tells him that it’s good that he came by — she was planning to go back to Seoul anyway, but only to clean out her place. He tells Bo-young to return to work, promising to keep his distance and not get involved if that’s what she wants. She doesn’t answer, instead patting her belly and affectionately calling her baby “dog poop.”

That doesn’t sit well with Joon-young at all, and it takes all of five minutes for him to forget his promise and start nagging her about the baby’s nickname. Bo-young innocently tells him the baby looked like “pretty dog poop” in the ultrasound picture, which gets Joon-young adorably excited. She shows him the photo, and his smile can’t get any bigger as he says their baby looks more like a peanut.

Hyun-woo runs into his divorced neighbor again, this time outside of a coffee shop. The two end up bonding over their claw machine experiences as they make their way over to the machine with the household appliances.

They return to their apartment complex after successfully winning a pan. As they wait for the elevator, the neighbor abruptly asks Hyun-woo if he wants to date her, causing him to spit out his coffee. Laughing, she explains that the worst thing about being divorced is eating alone, and says that this was her way of asking him to eat with her. Looking flattered, Hyun-woo suggests dinner.

Joon-young and Bo-young arrive at her house, which looks spotless. And that, we find out, is because Joon-young had cleaned every inch of it, not wanting Bo-young or the baby to spend time in a dusty apartment.

When Bo-young thanks him for his support, he asks if she’ll return to work. She starts to say she’s not sure, but stops in mid-sentence after seeing a photo of Joon-young propped up on her table. He tells her the photo is for their baby, and asks her not to remove it.

Once Joon-young leaves, Bo-young sees another picture of him tacked up on a nearby wall, then one on the ceiling above her bed. Upon closer inspection, she finds more photos tucked in random places throughout the apartment, including on the inside cover of the toilet seat, heh.

Hyun-woo walks into work humming under his breath, and Joon-young correctly guesses that he must be dating. Hyun-woo tries to be coy about it before quickly telling his hoobae all about the neighbor, marveling at how surprising it is that he’s gotten friendly with a complete stranger.

Joon-young says he has even more surprising news: Bo-young’s pregnant. Hyun-woo’s jaw drops, but Joon-young doesn’t even give him a chance to process the information before adding that the baby’s his. He then saunters out of the office, leaving Hyun-woo to stare after him in shock.

Soo-yeon shops for groceries, buying enough food for three people. Meanwhile, Hyun-woo enjoys dinner with his neighbor, then the two stop for a beer. The neighbor tells Hyun-woo that she doesn’t have many friends and calls Hyun-woo her closest friend in the neighborhood. She asks if they should go on a real date, causing Hyun-woo to do another spit take.

Homeless Yoon-ki spends the night at the airport and falls asleep while holding onto his bag, but even that gets stolen from him.

It’s Bo-young’s first day back at work, and though Joon-young gives her a longing look, he keeps their conversation strictly about work.

The team goes out to lunch to celebrate Bo-young’s return, and her colleagues try to get Bo-young to drink. Rather than make excuses, Bo-young just comes out with the news that she’s pregnant. She quickly lays out the ground rules for her pregnancy in her typical no nonsense way: no alcohol or other unhealthy foods, no late nights at work, and no team lunches.

Her foul-mouthed colleague raises the question everyone’s afraid to ask: Who’s the father? Bo-young gives Joon-young the briefest of glances before telling everyone not to even ask, because they’ll never find out.

Yoon-ki hides behind a wheelbarrow outside of Ara’s house as a car pulls in, and sees Ara get out with a handsome Frenchman. (You go, girl!) The two say their goodbyes as if they’re starring in their own movie, complete with declarations of love and a Hollywood-style kiss while Yoon-ki watches in horror.

Once Ara goes inside, Yoon-ki aggressively confronts the man, telling him that he’s Ara’s husband. But Yoon-ki’s no match for Ara’s new man, who gets Yoon-ki to back down with a simple twist of his arm.

Hyun-woo spends more time with his neighbor, going grocery shopping and even visiting a claw machine together with her. As they head up to their respective apartments, the neighbor asks Hyun-woo to wait in the elevator, then returns with a bag of side dishes for him.

It’s another day at work where Joon-young can’t keep his eyes off Bo-young — but today, he tells her that she looks best while she’s working here. Then he walks into the CEO’s office, looking like he has something important to say.

TOYCRANE fan Grandma fries up some pancakes, while Ajumma wonders if it’s a special day. Grandma informs her that it’s the anniversary of their husband’s death and asks her to help with the cooking. But Ajumma airily says the best gift to her husband on this day would simply be for her to visit his gravesite, earning herself a glare from Grandma.

As they leave for the cemetery, Grandma brings along a big shovel — she says it’s to bury Ajumma with their husband, since he liked her so much. Ajumma laughs at what she assumes is a joke, but her smile fades at Grandma’s serious face. Hee.

We next check in with several other TOYCRANE fans, who all receive a new alert on their phones and read it curiously.

Soo-yeon is up for a big promotion at work, and during her meeting with the (male) bosses, one asks what her husband does for a living. She’s startled, but she honestly tells them that while she may be divorced and with a kid, she’s done a good job at work, so she asks that the decision be made on the merits of her job performance.

Alas, when the promotion decisions are announced, Soo-yeon’s name is sadly not on the list. She puts on a brave face for her colleagues, then calls Hyun-woo to ask him out to coffee, telling him the bad news. Hyun-woo tells her he has dinner plans, so Soo-yeon hangs up, looking disappointed.

A colleague runs up to Bo-young with the news that Joon-young has resigned. Bo-young can’t hide her distress at this development, then all of a sudden, she doubles over in pain, grabbing her stomach. She tries calling Joon-young but he doesn’t answer, since he’s busy packing his bags.

Over lunch, Yoon-ki sheds tears over Ara and her new man. Yeah, I’m not feeling too sorry for you right now.

On her way home, Soo-yeon’s busy chatting on the phone when she suddenly shops short, having spotted Hyun-woo and his neighbor together. Hyun-woo looks up and sees Soo-yeon too, and the two just look at each other for a moment, both caught off guard.

Soo-yeon meets Hyun-woo back at his apartment, where she immediately starts tidying up. When she opens his refrigerator, she spots the side dishes that aren’t her own, and takes this as a sign to leave. Outside his apartment, she takes a moment to gather her thoughts, and Hyun-woo watches her leave from his window.

At her place, Bo-young finds yet another photo of Joon-young and wonders out loud to her baby, “What should Mom do?” When she gets up, she’s hit with another sharp pain that sends her collapsing to the floor. Seriously, why aren’t you at the hospital by now?

She grabs her phone to call Joon-young, but he’s in the car and doesn’t answer. It doesn’t take long before Joon-young turns the car around, but it looks like Bo-young’s already passed out from the pain.

Yoon-ki hops the gate to his old house and is incensed to find Ara and her boyfriend headed up inside. He rushes to Ara and apologizes, telling her that he’ll never cheat again, and that he wants to start over. Haltingly, he tells her that he loves her.

But Ara treats him like a stranger, and tells him that she’ll give him one minute to get out of her house. He shouts after her that he won’t leave and just wait for her. After a beat, a shot rings out, and a bullet just misses Yoon-ki’s foot.

From her balcony, Ara points a shotgun at her ex and tells him to leave before she counts to three. She’s not kidding around — Yoon-ki’s barely over the gate when she shoots at him, missing once, but making contact with her second shot.

For his part, Yoon-ki limps away from Ara’s property holding his hip where he’s been hit before promptly passing out.

Meanwhile, Joon-young rushes to the hospital in a panic, an unconscious Bo-young on his back.

Aw, all of our favorite TOYCRANE fans, including the hacker couple and the CEO, are gathered for an in-person meetup. The hacker husband kicks things off by introducing himself and sharing his username, and they each go around, laughing and chatting while they get to know one another.

Hyun-woo sits in his dark apartment, thinking about his conversation with his neighbor on their date. She said that she got divorced because she couldn’t forget the past, but she added that now, it doesn’t matter whether or not she’s actually forgotten her husband, because she’s moved on. Pointing her finger forward, she’d told Hyun-woo to look straight ahead before asking him if he’d consider dating her for real.

The conversation seems to spur something in Hyun-woo and he calls Soo-yeon, only to lamely ask after her and Joon-soo. Soo-yeon cuts right to the chase and tells him that he has no reason to feel sorry toward her; she wants them both to stop feeling sorry toward each other, and move on to happier things.

Joon-soo walks out to tell Soo-yeon that the bathroom light is out. He wants to call dad to fix it, but Soo-yeon tells him that she’ll do it from now on.

After hanging up with Soo-yeon, Hyun-woo starts emptying out his closet like a madman, then posts on the forum asking for advice on an outfit for an “important meeting” the next day. His post comes right in the middle of the TOYCRANE fan meetup, and the commenters excitedly consult each other before providing Hyun-woo with feedback.

At the hospital, Joon-young looks worried as he talks with Bo-young’s doctor. When he returns to Bo-young’s bedside, he tells the tearful Bo-young that the baby’s okay, thank goodness. She wonders what happened to her then, and Joon-young gravely says that her pain was from… constipation. HAHAHA. Bo-young turns away in mortification while Joon-young makes sure to repeat the diagnosis extra slowly for her benefit. I’m dying.

The next day, Yoon-ki climbs over Ara’s gate again, clutching his injured hip and loudly proclaiming that he can’t live without her. He doesn’t get far before he’s smacked on the head by a flying brick, then collapses to the ground.

As Joon-young drives Bo-young home, he tells her that he wants to be involved in raising the baby, even if she doesn’t want to be with him. Bo-young just says he shouldn’t have resigned from work, but he says he couldn’t bear for her to leave the job she loved because of him. When she asks if he really doesn’t have feelings for her, Joon-young hesitates, but says he doesn’t. At that, she asks for his help in moving her things out of her apartment.

The next day, Joon-young helps Bo-young get all packed up and asks her where they’re headed. She replies that she’ll show him the way, only to lead them directly to Joon-young’s place.

Joon-young can’t believe it when Bo-young tells him she plans to live with him from now on, but he’s clearly giddy at this turn of events. He pretends that he hadn’t been planning for a life with her and the baby at all, but when Bo-young opens the door to his spare room, she finds a nursery inside, fully stocked.

Bo-young drops the news that they’re expecting a girl, causing Joon-young to freak out with excitement, and he rambles about the things he’s dreamed of doing with his daughter. Aww.

They get serious for a moment when Joon-young asks Bo-young for one thing: not to hide or run away from him again. When she promises she won’t, he immediately tests her resolve by planting a kiss on her. Her eyes widen in shock, then close for a moment — but then she kicks his shin and pulls away huffily. Oh, Bo-young.

Hyun-woo rushes to his important meeting while his neighbor waits expectantly at a restaurant. He narrates that he couldn’t leave his wife because he was scared to forget her, and because he was scared of being forgotten. He says that when he did end up leaving her, he was always looking back. “Now,” he says, “I have courage to leave her there. I’m not going to care about her.”

His neighbor lights up when she sees her guest arrive — it’s her daughter, who she greets happily.

Meanwhile, Soo-yeon sees Joon-soo off to school. Joon-soo gets on the bus and waves goodbye to Soo-yeon, then turns the opposite way to look out the window. Before the bus pulls away, he waves to someone.

That someone is Hyun-woo — he’s across the street, winded from sprinting to the bus stop. When Soo-yeon finally sees him, she freezes in shock.

In voiceover, Hyun-woo says that the most important thing in his life now is the Soo-yeon that’s standing in front of him, and adds that he hopes she can leave the “old” Hyun-woo in the past too.

As they smile at one another, Hyun-woo narrates, “This week, our new story begins.” He runs across the street to his wife, and the two walk off together, into their future.

 
COMMENTS

The biggest question I had as we neared the finale was whether or not Hyun-woo and Soo-yeon’s relationship would survive — even after they actually ended up going through with their divorce, it wasn’t crystal clear to me that they’d really end up separated. This episode did a great job of conveying the enduring connection between our lead couple, even post-divorce, and how the divorce itself almost seemed to lighten the burdens of their relationship — enough that they were on better terms than ever after they officially parted ways.

It could have gone either way — they could have moved on, but remained friendly partners in raising Joon-soo, or they could have realized through their post-divorce interactions that in the end, they wanted to try again. Personally, I’m glad it’s the latter, and I appreciate that the reconciliation happened after Hyun-woo had an opportunity to see what life could have been like as a newly single man. Though Hyun-woo’s potential love interest turned out to be more of a plot device for Hyun-woo’s final realization, I found his decision to consciously leave the old Soo-yeon in the past and look to the future with the Soo-yeon in front of him pretty moving.

I think we can all agree that Soo-yeon as a character was probably the weak link in this main story, as she was never fully fleshed out. Even in the end, when we did get a little bit of insight into her experiences that led her to this point, she remained just as frustrating and enigmatic as she was in the beginning (or if we’re being generous, maybe just a little less so). But I think this was done on purpose, as This Week was, through and through, Hyun-woo’s story: a story about his growth as a husband and father, and as a human being searching for understanding and comfort over the internet.

His story wouldn’t have been possible or made complete without our beloved TOYCRANE fan community, who illustrated in multiple ways how individuals long for human connection, even if those connections are created online. I loved that the show gave proper closure to most of our fans through their in-person meetup (how awesome was it to see all of them together?) but it was even better to see that TOYCRANE’s story actually ended up spurring these commenters to make changes in their own lives, whether it was to decide against divorce, or to come out of one’s shell and live life a little more bravely. They showed us that connections forged online can actually become something real and more meaningful in our offscreen lives, if we let it.

As for the rest of our couples, their stories ended pretty much how we thought they’d end: Yoon-ki and Ara’s relationship went out with gunshots and blood, while Joon-young and Bo-young win the most adorable couple award. The latter couple was my favorite, and I have to admit I was hoping we’d get a little more affection from Bo-young towards Joon-young (or at least a better kiss!) in this episode. But Bo-young was who she is until the end, and Joon-young’s enthusiasm will have to cover them both — at least until he manages to wear her down on that front, too. They were often times the funniest part of the show, and I’m so glad we got to spend the time we did with our writer/PD couple.

Overall, I’m fully satisfied with the story this show told from beginning to end — and that’s not something that I say often about K-dramas. Thanks to CandidClown and all of our commenters who created our own little online community — I really appreciated hearing the various perspectives folks brought to the table, especially those who shared their personal stories and experiences. The value of a kind and understanding online community has never been more apparent as it has been throughout this particular show, and it made me thankful to be a small part of it. Until next time, everyone!

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I need a spinoff about Boyoung and Joonyoung. Just can't get enough of these 2!!!

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I agree! Loved them!!

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'guess we all know it would be somewhat a happy ending for our main couple,and let's wish them a happy ever after.
I was a bit disappointed with Bo Young and Ahn PD coz what was that kiss?! we've been waiting for weeks for some skinship then you give us a kiss and you have to cover it, like what?! is this a teen drama aimed for kids? aren't we all adults here? heck, they showed a lot of disgusting kissing scene with Yoon Ki that even made me throw up my dinner at one time, then here are two pretty human beings and that's all we got?! Pffft! Boa, if you're gonna be an actress, a little hug here and kiss there is part of the job and if you are good, you can just fake it but give us something convincing. argh!
Joon Young is super cute and a super nice guy,to boot, I don't think you will ever find any guy like that.

BTW, does anybody have any idea what Ara whispered to the mistress who was getting married? Maybe she told the guy what a home-wrecker she is and the groom left or something.

some were saying the Ara's violence towards Yoon Ki was a bit extreme but he's been hurting her emotionally before, isn't it just fair considering everything?

Toycrane somehow helped people online, too. The hacker couple who realized that they were just probably in a slump, and just had to refresh their relationship. It was just a fun get-together. The two ahjummas were a little dysfunctional and maybe a little funny but in real life that is just not going to work.

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Haha the lack of skinship is precisely why we need a spinoff!
LOL anyway pretty sure it ain't BoA's problem. She did a dance movie in the US before where there were plenty of kiss scenes and 1 almost bed scene (it was pretty hot btw they were dancing while taking their clothes off heh.) She also did a kiss scene with Siwan in Waiting for Love.

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So is it Lee Sang Yeob - Ahn Pd , the real prude here? heehee
or the director?

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Must be the director. What a waste of Lee Seon-kyun's skinship skill, and everyone else.

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heck, they showed a lot of disgusting kissing scene with Yoon Ki that even made me throw up my dinner at one time, then here are two pretty human beings and that’s all we got?!

i hope you said the kissing scene b/w Yoon Ki and all his mistresses was disgusting because it was b/w two ppl having an affair (and a different kind of affair compared to what SY did), not because of it was not done by "pretty human beings" like Bo Young and Ahn Pd

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Not a bad idea! I think more skinship would be out of character Bo-young. She didn't want a romantic relationship with Joon-young. At the end of the episode, she was only starting to be open to the idea of having a relationship with him.

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I am in love with this show and it didn't disappoint. It was a fun ride. Also, the commenters in this show's recap are a bunch of really intelligent people who has given us wisdom.

Thank you for the recaps, Chocolatte and CandidClown.

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I guess I disliked the ending, I still don't get WHY our main characters needed to get thought divorce, break hearts of parents and kid and THEN give chance to their relationships.
I still don't believe Soo-Yeon wouldn't cheat if she would get in same situation. So what is with this starting relationships with a new person when Soo-Yeon is still the same as at the beginning of the show?
I still don't get how they solved their problem with forgetting about affair, it was a problem with trust, not forgiving so how?
I still don't get WHY Soo-Yeon insisted to have her job, like yes, I get that she wanted to be a working mom, but for whole series I didn't find even one reason about WHY she liked her job enough to risk her family because of it. Her co-workers were nosy and annoying, her job was...tiresome and that's it.
And what the hell happened with Joon-Ki's and Hyun-Woo's friendship? Did I blink and somehow skipped this moment?

Don't misunderstand me, I didn't hate the ending, I think I simply had too high expectations from this show

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Because they needed a clean break to let go of the past. To come clean, to move on. Without dragging all the dirt with them. Now, as new people, without the baggage they can try to build something again, with hurt left behind.

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Don't think they can move on. The last scene said it all. He walk towards her, and just stands there as usual in receiving more. Her character wasnt the one where she realises and meets him halfway. I have seen this last few episodes, I just v want to see Aras revenge n Bo joon couple get pregnant with no knowing. That's one memorable night for joo young.

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She just stands,
Haven't seen the episodes. Typos.

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I Agree, the divorce is needed for both of them to put a final end to their marriage that has failed. And based on both SY and HW personality this is the best they can move on from the affair.

HY can considered the SY to have affair was failed in their first marriage. And SY can "atoned" and fully go through the consequences of her affair from the divorce.

Yes it is not 100% needed. However in this case, for this couple. This is the best decision they come up with to deal with the affair and its consequences.

And to a certain extent, it is also good for Joonso, because although his parents do separate for a while. Their relationship was never so bad that Joonso have to watch them fight and hurt each other right in front of his eyes.

Sometimes the best answer is not the ideal answer.

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I don't get it, why would Hyun-Woo and Soo-Yeon break hearts of so many good people, if they wanted to get together against all the odds. if they needed time they could do all the same thing without getting divorced, but no, at that moment they fully lost faith in their marriage and decided to go all the way to separate.
It is normal for Hyun Woo to still love his ex-wife-they were married for six years, but it wasn't enough to make him or soo-yeon give their marriage another chance, sorry but for me it looked like both of them were simply scared of starting a new life

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But they would not go through cleansing they both needed if it was only a short term breakup. Also pestering from family would also be there. When they ended things and put an end to this, that's when they let themselves free. They grieved, found friends in one another again and now can build something on it. When there was a clear cut from the past in the divorce itself.

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We don't know that they want to get back together. It looks like they're going in that direction, but we don't know for sure. I think you're right that the divorce happened because they lost faith in their marriage. Soo-yeon appeared to be the one who pushed the divorce and Hyun-woo somewhat unwillingly agreed to it. Hyun-woo wanted to reconcile, but she seemed to be against it.

>I still don’t get how they solved their problem with forgetting about affair..
I don't think they solved anything completely by the end of the show. Hyun-woo was shown to have learned that he wasn't the perfect husband/dad and can do better. Because he wasn't able to forget the affair, the wife seemed to have really pushed for the divorce.

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- Their story is quite simple. After 8 years of marriage, everything becomes habit. They falls apart. The husband is busy with the job. The wife is busy working and being a mom. One day someone pays attention to the mom, she feels being herself again. She got into affair because she wanted to be herself for a little bit.

- After knowing about the affair, the husband goes through lots of emotion. At the end he realizes he still loves her. But he cant forget the affair. If you pay attention you can see that, before the divorce, the husband only remember how they felt in love, how she was back at the beginning. But after the divorce, he starts to remember their life living together, how she prepared the food, how they went shopping together. They need to be apart to remember what they missing. If they stay in the relationship they gonna continue to blame each other. The wife couldnt get over the guilt. The husband couldnt forget the affair.

- They dont get back together. They start something knew. They know and understand fully the mistake they made. They understand how they meant for each other. They want to let go of the past. Its not gonna be easy. But they willing to try. For the kid and for themselves.

- the affair wasnt about trust. Its about marriage couple value their relationship. The husband didnt know how hard the wife work. The wife missing the romance (they havent seen the stars for years). The wife didnt get the affair because she loves other men, she did that because the husband forget to care about her. Yes they still having lots of problem in their relationship but at least now both of them willing to try, it takes two for everything.

- She didnt insist to keep her job. She does it because she's good at it. Her job requires lots of time and effort but she wants to be a working mom. She's been working there for long time, enough for promotion. Its not easy to jump job and other place would still be the same.

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and great reminder for us all that love need nurturing and care.

Just as we need to breathe to survive, love needs a breath of fresh air to flourish.

Thank you for the recaps admin :D

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This is merely a tautology and and empty platitude. The guy loved his wife. As for their marriage, show cannot get its story straight (they forget the anniversary, but she remembers his birthday?). Show attempts to remind us that they love each other very much (I seriously doubt her side of the equation, given what she actually does and her gaslighting and self entitled behavior). Show explicitly given her being overworked as explanation for the betrayal. Which does not make any sense whatsoever: a lover does not free up one's schedule, though magically she apparently couldn't get the time to read a book, and now she suddenly manages to fit in meetings with her lover without any apparent problem. Once discovered, they effortlessly stop seeing each other. No guilt or remorse spurning her husband to meet the guy, or planning to sleep with him in a motel and the going to pick up her kid.

Most importantly, notice how her husband is essentially the best catch in the drama, the one that does the most housework even before discovering the betrayal, and someone that never cheated on her with a married woman with kids, yet who gets backstabbed and deceived? Yoon-ki with all his affairs? The husbands of the other moms, who help out their spouses less than him? Her lover, that had a full blown affair? No, the ML does. This clearly indicates that the problem here is not him, it's her. There are people like the ML and the FL's lover's wife who would never betray their partner, and there are people like the FL and her lover that would, and would then proceed to act self righteously, self entitled and gaslight their partner. He deserves the former, and almost had a true relationship with the neighbour, a much better person than his wife, and someone with a loyal character similar to his. He self sabotaged, and ended up back in the sham of a marriage with his disloyal wife. And no, while it's good to spite things up so they don't get boring, and to communicate with your partner, him not being perfect and not being able to mind read is not an excuse for her deceiving him about her issues and having a full blown affair that she never planned to stop, by her own admission. "Nurturing love" obviously is not the issue for the betrayal here, given how neither him nor her lover's wife, nor the other moms, etc. had affairs. Trust is kind of the non negotiable basic of the relationship. I completely reject the victim blaming of this drama in this respect, as it is contradicted by reality and the very plotlines of the other characters, something that the writer would have noticed if they bothered to think about the plot for five minutes.

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I just have to point out that this not only openly contradicts what the FL said in this episode (and rightly so: the ML *cannot* be expected to be a mind reader, and while some signs might be easier to spot on the outside -maybe she simply let her guard down when she read the book-, none of her family or friends noticed either, as she didn't herself... and when she did, she didn't talk to her husband, but lied to his face about it: he shouldn't be expected to be a mind reader, this is completely unearned guilt... for that matter, it's not his job to treat her as if he was her father, she is an adult, she can speak her mind and she is in control of her own schedule, he shouldn't have to be a mind reader, and while being uncommunicative is not a deal breaker in and of itself, it does mean that you cannot justify or explain your betrayal when you didn't take the obvious actions to ameliorate the situation: her schedule and her betrayal *do not* have anything to do with each other, contrary to her claims -having a lover does not add hours to the day, though magically she didn't have time to read, but could find it to have a full blown affair, including planning meetings at hotels, texting, etc.-. I completely reject a victim blaming narrative that puts this on the shoulders of someone that was not just unaware, but intentionally kept in the dark (about the overworking issue, just as much as about the affair). This is an insult to the intelligence of any viewer with more than two brain cells.

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Now, let's look at the show's own plot lines, and apply a bit of reasoning. I am not looking for internal consistency, just a bit of common sense would suffice. ML is the one husband that actually cared to help out his wife, and this was true even before her affair. He could have done more, and would have if he was told there was a problem and simply asked to complete more house chores (she could have effortlessly asked him to do more, or discussed the possibility to hire outside help, like a baby sitter or house cleaner, or to leave the kid with his mom, or cut off appointments like the stuff she does with the other moms, which, despite the ML's inability to stick to his ground, was actually a prefectly valid thing to cut out from their schedule)... him not being a mind reader is simply not reason enough to make him underserving of basic loyalty or to break his trust (and heart), backstab and deceive him. For that matter, ML didn't cheat on his spouse like Yoon-ki or FL's lover. Yet, who among those husbands gets cheated on? ML. Plainly, this is not an issue of "nurturing love" (it's not as if in the end they are spicing up their routine or doing anything materially different).

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Yoon-ki's wife and the FL's lover's wife, and all those other moms, never cheated on their comparatively worse spouses. ML, factually the best of the aforementioned husbands, got cheated on. The variable that changed here is his toxic wife. Had he chosen the right person, someone like Yoon-ki's wife or the FL's lover's wife, or one of the other moms, they wouldn't have cheated on him, as demonstrated by the fact that they didn't cheat on their worse (and in some cases much worse) husbands, who in some cases actually did slight them in horrific ways (Yoon-ki's husband and the FL's lover). This is patently obvious upon a second's reflection. ML didn't cheat on his wife because she forgot their anniversary, and was in the same boat as her as far as passion, etc., that's simply not the issue (actually, I didn't like the show portraying being trusting of your partner and not having to kiss their a*s every second, i.e. having a mature long term relationship where you know each other and trust the other person to actually tell you if they have a problem, taking for granted they won't betray and deceive you your entire life instead -not that I accept "being overworked" as an explanation, for the reasons explained elsewhere in this thread-.

In short, this is plainily not about "nurturing love", as basically none of the other husbands that didn't help their wives or cheated on them got cheated on. By the show's own plot, the issue here is clearly that he didn't choose the right person, a mistake he compounted in this episode. But the ML's spine was surgically removed and he became an embodyment of internalized self hatred, which I don't consider a good development, because it means that he didn't pursue a relationship with someone else, someone frankly more worthy.

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To be clear, I am not talking about the relationship in general, or love, etc. I would have been perfectly fine if she had wanted to divorce, etc. I am talking about basic respect for your current partner, i.e. not betraying and deceiving them (forever, in their case). As as correctly pointed out in My Mister, unhappiness in not a sufficient condition for that kind of betrayal, while a lack of any shred of respect for them is a necessary one.

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Love and their relationship is really a separate issue from the betrayal and deception. Couples can part amicably if they realize they don't love each other, or they have problems they cannot solve. Basic loyalty, trust and respect are non negotiables. Betraying and deceiving your partner is quite a separate issue from love/relationship issues (what is a non sequitur, Alex?), unless said partner is unworthy of basic loyalty, trust and respect, such as in the case of someone physically abusive, or a philanderer.

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I second the thanks for the recaps (obviously, I have quite a different opinions than the one revealed in the surrounding commentary).

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I had a different opinion. I thought that SY definitely loved SW (probably more than what she loved her husband) before the affair got caught and until her ex-lover dumped her. SY’s character was not an out-going or flirtatious woman whom easily slept with any man. If SY allowed and dared to have another man, whom was not her husband, physically touch her body, it meant that her mind was with that man already.

I thought the reason that SY did not get promoted because she lost her focus on her works after the affair was found out. Her works as a career mom and housewife were already overloaded and now she had to spend times to deal with all issues regarding the affair. The Writer should not tie her performance with the unfair treatment of man/women in a workplace for SY’s case.

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Yes!SY said when she and her husband first met after the affair was caught that she missed him so much and want to see him always in her mind.But what against reality was they were having sex only once.What SY behavior showed she love SW much more than her husband and she had already preparing to divorce her husband when SW insist her to do.She obeyed what SW said to do.You can easily seemed when Sw entered the hotel Sy was obediently followed beside her him like a sheep prepared to sacrificed.Even she already knew what they`re doing in the hotel room.SY already said in her last confession statement that she was happy when she was with SW and didn`t remember her husband son and work and not feel guilty.

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This is most definitely *not* what she says in this episode. She was not a bored housewife, ML was in love with her (and never even thought they could betray each other, let alone pursued an affair of his own, despite having stresses of his own, such as the job almost lost). Show also makes the point that she loves him as well, though I don't find it believable given her betrayal and deception (complete lack of guilt), and following gaslighting and self entitled attitude. She also thinks he is a wonderful person. So, I won't interact with the "theory" presented here, and go with what the show actually says, in FL own words, in this episode. Namely that she did this because she was overworked. Now, she didn't realize she was, and her husband didn't either, nor did her family and friends. When she did, she explicitly lied to him about it. She was in charge of her own schedule, and could have easily either spoken to her husband about it, or hired someone like a babysitter, house cleaner, etc. Not to mention that in no way, shape or form does having a lover help free up your schedule, and mysteriously, despite not having time to read a book, when she needed to meet up her lover she magically managed to fit *that* into her calendar. This is simply insulting the viewer's intelligence. Her schedule, etc. and her deliberate decision to betray and deceive her husband, not to mention with a man with a family of his own (how did her lover's wife fit in in this self flagellation spurt?) are not related, though I think the the parents of the ML and some of the dumbos drinking the cool aid (not to mention horrific notions such as ML having to "save her with the power of his male approval", basically milking him for compliments, or the horrific orwellian thought crime) might very well be. Bottom line, ML was basically the one husband that did help out some with house chores, and certainly didn't cheat on her with a married woman with kids like her lover: he is basically the best husband you find in the drama. Yet, who gets cheated on? Not the husbands of the other mothers, nor Yoon-ki, not ever her lover, even after his wife discovers his betrayal and deception. No, it's the ML. This clearly indicates that the problem, here, is his toxic wife, not him, instead he has become the epitome of the internalization of self hatred, despite his wife explicitly saying here that she did *not* do what she did because of the fact that her husband was not a perfect human, nor should not being perfect (i.e. not being a mind reader, not being as familiar with doing house chores, etc.) be required in order to get basic loyalty and not be betrayed and deceived his entire life.

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I don't think I even need to address these claims: the FL in this episode explicitly explained how these were not the issues, it was not about her relationship with her husband, it was about her being overworked. Which does not make any sense, given that adding a lover doesn't free up time, despite the fact that, while claiming she couldn't find space in her schedule for book reading, she suspiciously manages to fit in a full blown affair.

I will point out that none of the other mothers, whose husdbands were less helpful that the ML, cheated on their partners. Nor did Yoon-ki's wife, despite him being a philanderer, nor did the FL's lover's wife, even after discovering his betrayal and deception. In short, ML was doing more things right than any of them, but among them, he was the only one that was cheated on. Which kind of points to the obvious truth that the issue here is not him, it's her: if he had married someone like Yoon-ki's or the FL's lover's wife, he wouldn't have had this problem. So the true message ought to have been, by the drama's own plot, that you ought to choose the right person, and he made a mistake in choosing her (and doubled down in this episode, despite having literally no reason to, given he had the neighbor as a much more worthy choice as a partner).

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I *wish* he didn't forget the affari and she coludn't forget her guilt. This is not the case. Had it been, he would have realized none of the other unhelpful husbands, or Yoon-ki or his wife's lover, got betrayed and deceived: he did, despite being factually better than any of them... obviously, the relevant variable here is his toxic wife, which he would have dropped if he had any sense, but he put his head in the sand: an example of how remembering the betrayal causes him pain for a good reason: it signals "stay as far away from this factually untrustworthy and disolyal person that has already violated your trust". Unfortunately, the ML *did* seem to forget the affair, or pretends to. So, either a lobotomy, or sheer stupidity. The ostrich method: denying reality, refusing to notice that rather than wallowing in unearned guilt (apologizing to his wife for being unable to heal from the trauma she inflicted on him on her schedule, among other things), he should realize that neither the more unhelpful husbands of the other moms, nor Yoon-ki's or the FLs' lover's wife betrayed their husbands. So, he would have been perfectly alright, being better (much better in the case of the lying, cheating adulterers stealing time from their spouses that they could use finding someone better) than them, marrying one of them instead of his wife: the toxic woman was the problem, factually speaking, as evidenced by these examples in the drama's own plot.

As for the wife's guilt, frankly, it took a long time to come -no guilt spurning her husband to be with her lover, lying to his face forever, in her intentions, going to pick up her kid after sleeping with her lover in a motel, etc... plus gaslighting and self entitlement, trying to make him an accomplice in their deception, when their other victim had every right to know, and, trying to tell him who he should open up with regarding the trauma he suffered, as if he owed her to protect her reputation, or anything at all, while at the same time threatening to and actually telling about the affair to his mum, who suffered through something similar, despite her victim explicitly telling her he didn't wish for that to happen, and not doing anything to make this work, being essentially a damsel in distress letting the ML do all the growing and work. Even in the end, I don't really know if I buy her guilt (might be because her treating this as something that could be put aside, as if she had forgotten a birthday, earlier in the show, and gaslighting him about reminding her that he was the victim here, in a very pertinent context -him having the right to talk to whomever he wishes about his experiences, her not having the right to cause him further pain and damage by telling his mother, and having the good grace to respect her victim's wishes). I *wish* he didn't forget the affair and she couldn't forget her guilt. This is not the case.

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More than simple, I would say simplistic and really nonsensical. Talking about the real explanation, given by FL in this episode, not the one provided in this post, which obviously is quite different from the drama one. Said explanation is that she was overworked, something that in no way was ameliorated by adding a lover, though suspiciously she suddenly had the time to have an extramarital affair, while by her own words before she didn't even have time to read.

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If she wanted a distraction, a hobby such as zumba would have sufficed. Not that a hobby or a extramarital affair would be of any help, if the problem was actually that she had too many things on her schedule. But then again, basic internal consistency and common sense was not exactly a prominent feature of this drama.

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Just to point out the obvious, but the wife is an adult woman with the ability to actually speak, and to actually make decisions, either about her own schedule or about betraying and deceiving his spouse, or not. She has agency. A fact that is denied all along, in the show's attempt to turn her into a passive princess waiting for the ML to sweep in and save the relationship all by himself. If you can call this sham with a disloyal, traitorous, lying, cheating, toxic and self entitled partner that gaslighted him into submission, with a bit of Stockholm Syndrome sprinkled on top, a relationship. Not that it is at all clear why he would want to have a relationship, or really any kind of contact outside those strictly necessary for their kid with this person

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Basic loyalty, trust and respect are quite another matter from love and relationship issues. Couples can part respectfully and amicably if they have irreconcilable differences, or if the love is no longer there. Betrayal and deception are quite another thing. They are completely unrelated, unless the partner is not deserving of basic loyalty, trust and respect, such as in the case of someone physically abusive or a philanderer, in which case obviously the reason to split up are also the reason they *don't* deserve the grace and courtesy of basic loyalty, trust and respect (FL admits that ML is good person, guy's fault is essentially being new/worse than his wife at house chores, and not being a mind reader... not sure what was the fault towards the FL that she didn't even know of her lover's wife, who she callously backstabbed and deceived, and would have continued to deceive forever had her husband not thankfully intervened, something the other victim of their betrayal thanked him for).

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I don't agree with anything u said . She herself said that even tho she saw him becomel like he is now , she did nothing to help .u shud realise that marrige is a mutual thing .he too was going through the same things in the past .she herself says that his job and responsibilities made him a loner liker her .it was also not like she tried to make time for him but he didn't , she didn't even try to do that . But was able to magically have time to spend with her lover.had she been there for him when he was struggling , he too would have been emotionally available.
Also the reason why she cheated wasn't because she wanted love and affection,but coz she wanted an outlet.
Also this reason made her immature, irresponsible and stupid .
I do agree the hus was also at fault ,but i felt shewas much worse

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I agree with you, coming back to these comments after a long time my opinion has hardened!
She cheated on her husband cruelly, calmly and with no regard to his feelings or her marriage,
She should have been divorced and left to find another partner whom she would want to respect
and love because she obviously no longer felt these things for her husband or home…….

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I'm having a different opinion abt your views on SooYeon, and I really want to share it. That's fine right? Hehe

First of all, I appreciate how this drama depicts working mom in a family. I don't see the need of her quitting her job just because of some reasons you listed above. Why should she sacrifice her career for her family no matter how sucks it is? A lot of people have nosy colleague and tiresome career yet still want to work. You might not say the same thing if Hyunwoo's job was worse, because he was the husband, the man 'who are responsible for the financial stuff in the family'. But these days, the roles have changed, bit by bit, and it's good since it empower women to not just do domestic works.

I say this after witnessing my mom's 20 years career sacrifice to become a housewife. Honestly I feel bad right now because I feel like I was holding her back (I was 6 though by the time she quits). After thoroughly studying about gender roles and stuffs in college I realize that probably my mom didn't have to quit her works, and my dad could've been the one to quit. It's unfair to fulfill society expectation about the roles of men and women in a family, and I applaud this drama's depiction of them.

Sorry if there's any grammatical error ^^

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Please don't feel like you were holding your mom back, and let me tell you why. I also quit my career, that had been a dream of mine since I was young. I loved what I did, but I don't regret for a minute quitting it to raise my children. No, my husband didn't ask me to quit my job to raise our kids, but raising my kids and spending time with them also became part of my dream. When my children became school-age children, instead of putting them to school and me looking back for ways to get back to my old career, we ended up home-schooling them.

Everyone is different, and to be honest, it was a choice that your mom made. If she can live with that choice and is happy with it, you shouldn't feel like she quits her job as a favor for you. It's something you should be grateful of, sure...but it may not be something that she feels she's lost out just because your dad could've put more effort from his part. Time is something that always moves forward. No matter what, I can't turn back time and relive my time with my kids. I'm just glad that it was a choice in I was privileged to have. There are more families that don't even have that choice of having a parent stays with the kids.

When I was young, my dream involved pumps, compressors, turbines, etc... I loved it, yes. Exchanging that with watching worms, dirt, and getting as giddy looking at the first time a butterfly hatched with my 9 and 7 year old? I'd do it all over again. No questions asked. Would I be able to do both? Perhaps other women can. I know I wouldn't. Everything requires one currency: time.

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@kimsajang, I say that Soo Yeon should have quite her job because it appears she couldn't cope with both. It was shown that she was suffering from a guilt conscience of leaving her son at one years old and because of that she tried to over compensate.

Soo Yeon and Michael talked about wanting to protect their family during their affair. If she really wanted to protect her family she would have quit her job which seemed to stress her out more than anything. I do find it interesting that she found time to have an affair when she didn't have time to read a book--shows that you make time for what's important to you.

My mom was a stay at home mom and I've very thankful she was and not my father. My father couldn't have given me the emotional support I needed from my mom. My mom made our house a wonderful place to call home after a rough day at school...loved those words of encourage. Yes, we as women want equal rights, but men and women are wired differently. There are some things women can do better than men and somethings men can do better than women. Being a mother is something only a woman can do.

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Of course, being mom is something only a woman can do. For centuries, they are conditioned to do it and made believe that they are naturally good for it. And vice versa for man.

No offense to your family. I also believe that it is one's choice to quit one's job, and be a stay at home mom.

But I see SY decision to keep her job is because she likes what she does and that she is good at it. The pressure comes from the need to be perfect mom, wife, and employee (team leader at that). If she knows she can share the burden and that she does not have to be perfect, her might have less pressure (not only fr the husband, but fr everyone her incl. the moms group and her bosses).

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They showed their SELFISH character that when they said that they wanted to “protect” their family although they had an affair. This was a ridiculous thought that some Viewers did not like it in this drama. The cheaters wanted to claim and excuse that although they slept with another person, they did not want to divorce their family - so they were good husband and good wife.

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You are right. She agrees she was selfish and didn't think of her family at that time.

Sun yeon is a docile woman who cannot express well lest she hurts anyone.
The affair guy was also a hard working man who didn't have time for himself.
When both met, they went on an auto pilot mode knowing this will end. They justified it as a short distraction until it ends. They both had decent spouses back home.

No, thenwife didn't love the affair partner at all and she wasn't spending too much time with him anyways or chatting. She was still doing her household and wife duties and as mentioned, it happened only once and the 2nd time was when they got caught.

I have just finished it today so I rem it fresh. The husband lack of emotional awareness is frustrating while the wife's lack of communication is too.
None of them were prepared for this .

But it was quite apparent, that they loved each other a lot in their own ways. They just lost their ways which was reignited after the divorce.

The wife's jealousy and grief when she saw him with another woman shows that in her own subtle way, she wants/ needs him back. She would have probably worked on herself to win him back anyways. Rem the scene where she blused a lot when her friend told her that they ll eventually get back.
Nevertheless, it was a good show

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@Nerdy, I have the same thought as you. I don't belle that Soo Yeon wouldn't cheat if she would get in the same situation. She showed absolutely zero guilt over her affair towards HW (she showed it for her MIL, her father and her son, but not him). She was always too quick to defend her lover and protect his family by getting on to HW. She's like Jekyll and Hyde.

I mentioned many of the same points you mentioned about Soo Yeon on the Soompi thread (I was in the lone minority). There was a lot of blaming or trying to find fault with Hyun Woo, even in the writer, but from what was always depicted in this drama, Hyun Woo was a good man and he deserved better than a woman who wouldn't communicate with him but would pursue a man, married man at that, for an affair--that's brazen.

I personally didn't care for the writer having Hyun Woo feel that he has the power to be responsible for Soo Yeon's happiness; blaming himself for her affair. Only Soo Yeon has that responsibility.

I do feel that if she could cheat again and know she wouldn't get caught, she will.

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Ohhh …. I have the same thought and completely agreed with you when I watched this drama. SY was not an innocent girl at all. She loved SW and probably more than what she loved her husband and family. If her ex-lover SW decided to leave his family and did not dump her, she would definitely divorce her husband and stay with SW.

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Who cried buckets while watching the final two episodes? I did.

This show must be one of my favorites this year. It reminds me of Dear My Friends - hard to watch sometimes, but so rewarding!

I do agree that the show isn't flawless. We were introduced quite late to Soo-yeon's thoughts and feelings and thus it always cut deeper when Hyun-woo was hurting (that scene in ep 11 when Hyun-woo was having his first lonely dinner...I was practically a fountain).

Joon-ki as a comic relief became pretty annoying by the end and yes, what happened to their friendship with Hyun-woo?

But Bo-young and Joon-yeong...well, I simply have hearts in my eyes for those two.

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I'd like to share my own experience watching the finale of this show. I had to watch the show twice in order to fully appreciate what it was doing, in terms of Hyun Woo and Soo Yeon's relationship.

Upon first viewing, I felt the finale to be very lacking, especially since it seems like Hyun Woo was doing all the work once again and the only one experiencing growth. I felt disappointed we didn't see Soo Yeon growing and in the end, when Hyun Woo walked across the zebra crossing to Soo Yeon, it felt symbolic of him always taking that step while Soo Yeon not putting in effort to make the marriage work.

However, I decided to rewatch it so to see if I could understand Soo Yeon's journey better and I realised that Soo Yeon's journey was more subtle. Unlike Hyun Woo's journey which is more obvious because it's mainly about him as a husband, Soo Yeon's journey is more multi-faceted, we see her journey as a mum, a career woman and also as a wife. One thing I noticed upon rewatching the finale was how often we see her smile and how energetic she looks, compared to all the past 11 episodes. We get hints that she's connecting more to people and not just keeping to herself, chatting with her neighbours and even meeting with friends. Even at work, her relationship with her subordinates seems to be more at ease. In the final scene when she says to Joon-Soo that she'll be waiting at home with cheese corn, there's a sense that she's found a balance between work and family, instead of rushing around.

As for her marriage with Hyun Woo, we know they've been meeting more frequently for meals, showing that there's been a reestablishing of the connection between them. She's been opening herself up and allowing herself to be vulnerable to him, especially when she called him after finding out she wasn't promoted. This was certainly an improvement from the previous situation before the affair when she kept everything to herself.

Soo Yeon sharing her story on the forum is also a marked step ahead for someone who's so private and always keeps to herself.

While Soo Yeon's journey of growth isn't at the foreground of the show, we can't deny that she has grown and certainly, all her growth points towards something hopeful for their relationship. Them going through the divorce was necessary, I felt, because it really brought them together, as ironic as it sounds, and they learnt how to work together to make a better life for Joon Soo.

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Well said! Lovely post @heroonthebeach!

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I couldn't agree more! Im not good at putting words together, but you said everything in head here.

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@hereonthebeach, I found Soo Yeon to be a mixed bag of personality. I always found her to be more open and engaging with her friends and with her lover. I always found her reserved with Hyun Woo except when she spoke up to tell Hyun Woo to leave Michale and his family out of it. I think the divorce was necessary, but they needed complete separation for several months if not a year or two.

The way the write did it in this drama of only about 2 or 3 months left me wondering how is Hyun Woo still going to feel when he goes in for a hug? He'll probably still be seeing her with Michael and hearing her talk about how she missed Michael and approached him, that she loves Michael. Words come back to haunt a person.

In true Korean drama style, they tried to give everyone a 'happy' ending when at times there is no happy ending.

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I noticed the same that the Writer, as seen in the final EP, made a story for SY to change and improve herself to be more opened rather than keeping everything in herself. I was disappointed about the reconciliation happiness timing in this drama that the Writer made HW to erase his painful memory that his wife allowing herself to sleep with another man within a short period (seemed like a few months after their divorce). This painful memory takes years or forever to forget.

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The Writer should add a short scene showing that SY truly loved her husband, or convinced him about her true love, etc.

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Were her improvement of more opening and more friendly good enough to get her husband back? We have not seen her growth in the sense of not deceiving him which was the important key-growth to get her husband back. She was the one who broke the marriage trust between husband and wife. She did not show any suspicious expression or manner in the past six months or when she was intentionally lying about her office activity to her husband which would allow her to be with her lover at the reserved hotel room and then went to pick up and face her son pretending like nothing happening. If we thought back that her husband did not accidentally find out the text message, she would still continue to deceive her husband who would never know that his wife also slept with another man indefinitely. Her husband also mentioned to his colleague before he caught up her affair red-handed that he could not trust his wife any more.

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As someone who watched initial episodes but dropped due to fact that i felt like it was one of those shows which okay ed adultery....should i watch this or not??? I was interested in the drama because in drama beans what are we watching section seemed to give this drama almost good reviews...i didn't read any reviews yet since i don't to spoil. But help me out drama beanies should I or should i not???

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Ah i meant recaps*

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honestly, you should give it a try (:
i don't necessarily see it as a show that normalizes adultery. instead, to me, it's a show about the harsh reality of a death of a relationship and dealing with consequences.

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To be honest, it is a great show, plot is well-written and well acted, it is not too depressing or too light. But for me who was against adultery with every piece of my mind, it seemed like show was trying to somehow justify it.
Main hero thinks why his wife cheated on him and then he finds faults in himself (I wouldn't spoil more), so at moments you wonder if show tries to tell you that it might be characters fault.
I wouldn't go so far to say that show made it okay or normal, but at some moments I really felt uncomfortable

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The show did a really good job of portraying things one way then saying things one way. Like it kept the double standard that men can cheat but women can't but then flipped it on it's head and had the women in the show comment on that.

There were people witch hunting SooYeon and then there were people giving her the benefit of the doubt.

At first the husband finds he is able to forgive because he did wrong first. But then Ara straight up says it "It doesn't matter what you did it doesn't excuse cheating."

The show just wanted to show strong differing opinions. Since condemnation is the more common view on cheating they went that route before turning to the justification route before ultimately stating that while his actions warranted SooYeon's behavior it doesn't mean her reasons were okay.

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Yes, but that is the problem, after few episodes we went on justification route and stayed there for whole show and when Ara said that Sun Woo being not so perfect husband doesn't excuse cheating it seemed like such a quiet comment, because at that point I don't think even Sun-Woo believed that.
I didn't want him to play his victim card for whole show, but now looking back it seemed like Soo-Yeon did wrong and then Sun-Woo did all the work-HE tried to keep his marriage alive, HE begged his wife to give him a chance, HE tried to understand her, HE told their child about divorce.
That's why I felt uncomfortable, even if I understood that Soo-Yeon was sorry(and she reminded us about it every minute of her screen time) someone who faced consequences was Hyun-Woo and meanwhile we are also told about what a bad husband he was

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I don't think it was justification. Just that there are causes to situations. For some people, they also need to understand why the cheating happened or why the relationship broke, though not as an excuse for the cheating.

Someone mentioned the difference in how Soo Yeon changed after the divorce and honestly the way the show portrayed it was quite realistic. Some people won't change as much as Sun Woo, and SY was always the first to have given up in their relationship.

It was very realistic maybe that's why it was uncomfortable.

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Yes! Please watch this!!

This show is giving a realistic insight into how life is when presented w a possibility of an affair, an affair itself as well as aftermath of it.

The show is also trying their best to show that there are many different kind of relationship and the break down of each relationship as well as different perspective different people can have and learn through their own failed relationship ship.

You might think it's "allowing" affair, I think that is because the show doesn't judge its character. The show simply lets it's character shows us glimpses of other ppl life.

Except Yoonki of course. He seems to be more of a comic relief that gets annoying =_=

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I felt the show did try to judge Hyun Woo and find fault with him while giving the cheating wife a pass--not really pointing out her failures in the marriage. IMO, I feel she was the main culprit because she is the one that failed to communicate with her husband. I also don't like how the writer had the husband blaming himself for his wife's happiness. If she could intentionally pursue a married man for an affair, she could have pursued opening herself up to communicate with her husband.

I felt very frustrated with the husband, his co-worker, his mother, his ex-girlfriend trying to put the blame on him. Actually, a woman should be happy to have a man like Hyun Woo....he was a very good man.

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There were a lot of red flags throughout the series that indicate Hyun Woo was not a good husband as he seemed to be.

Also, i don't think they ever gave SY a pass. Michael's wife shamed her for having relationship with her husband and rightfully so. Ara made it clear to Hyun Woo that that there's no excuse for cheating. We saw SY work hard at being a mom and a good employee and yet failed both as a consequence of her affair.

I think you need to rewatch the series with a different mindset. Know that the aim is not to point out who's right and who's wrong but rather understanding their actions and conditions that lead to their situation.

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I didnt get Yoonki & ara relationship.

Did he die from the brick?

Did she really move on with the frenchman or was it for show as she knew he was hiding behind the bushes?

Did she whisper in the brides ear that she told the groom her affair? Ending her wedding? Was fair to the bride as she was pregnant?

Was this all just to teach yoonki a lesson and get him back reformed ?

I don't get it their story ended too abruptly without resolution.

More importantly is yoonki dead .

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Yoonki died, 99.99%.

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Yes. Stay tuned for the sequel:
Next Week, Ara Will Go To Prison.

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@Bruce: ROFL'ing so hard here

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I think telling the groom was being fair to the groom. He can make a decision to adopt the child if it isn't his...if he still loved the girl. Now the girl SHOULD own up to her infidelity even if she's pregnant. That wasn't an excuse.

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One thing I dint get, how does ara know that he hyun woo is toycrane?

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I liked that the purpose of the neighbor was a troll by the writer. No, she wasn’t a new love line … but she served a purpose … one that I felt was badly needed … and that was to bring home to SY exactly what she had done. Up till this point, she felt guilt, she had profound regret. But what was missing was any real growth … because there was really nothing there to push her growth. And I think this was that moment … seeing her ex-husband with another woman and seeing another person’s banchan in his fridge brought home the pain and sense of betrayal home. I’m quite sure leading up to this moment, she harbored secret feelings of possible reconciliations, but this moment made her realize that she didn’t actually deserve any sort of reconciliation … how could she? What she felt that night was not even 1/10 of what she did to her husband, and yet the pain was acute and biting … now she knows viscerally what she had subjected him to … and it was a wake up call …now there’s not only guilt and regret, but empathy too … and it’s that empathy that promotes growth … and that’s what makes her decide to finally let him go.

As for the final scene … I honestly do not think that this was the day after her seeing him with the neighbor … I think what we’re seeing is several days … maybe even several weeks later … simply because it’s obvious to me the reaction from the son isn’t one of surprise in seeing his dad … and I don’t think there was surprise in her face either in seeing him there … just a comfortable happiness … and certainly their casual embrace isn’t something one would expect after having had the conversation from the previous scene … no, I think that he did see her the day after and I do believe that from then to “now” there was plenty of progress made in moving forward … especially now that she finally understood that despite the amount of hurt she inflicted, that his love for her was big enough that she’s willing to fight along with him for a love that she knows she doesn’t deserve … but he does, the fact that she’s happy too is just cream.

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You said it very well. This is my exact thought also, that Soo Yeon was not surprised to see him there at the other side of the street. It's like they had had many conversations after that night at his apartment and together they decided that they were finally ready to move forward, leaving the past behind. Maybe this was their first official date as a new couple.

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Your comment was great. My feeling of pitying her was changed to a feeling of sympathizing her in this final EP. She kept smiling when her old friend teased her about her happiness and possible reconciliation after the divorce - I liked the Lead Actress Song Ji-hyo’s sweet and beautiful smiling. SY hoped for a reconciliation. She early called her ex-husband after her no-promotion bad news that she wanted to see and talk with him but he denied saying that he had other committed meeting. But when she saw her ex-husband having a dinner with another girl, she felt sad and lost. Now she understood and started to realize on how much more suffering that her ex-husband early had due to her affair during their marriage when comparing to her current feeling in seeing her ex-husband being with another women. She felt that she did not deserve any happiness and hold him back. I felt glad that they started to resume their husband/wife family relationship at the end. But what bothered me was the “timing” that was NOT realistic in this drama. The story should portray more clearly reasonable timing that the couple built up their new relationship as good friends after the divorce for about a year or more. Then the scene of SY seeing her ex-husband having a dinner with his neighbor would be shown up. Forgetting such kind of hurt emotion / feeling due to affair takes YEARS or FOREVER.

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I see the latest assignment is out.
Ready your keyboards and opinions guys!
Brace yourself, long thesis on social studies incoming.

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I feel like I'll do okay on the essay, but I'm not sure about the test. Should I use flash cards? Should I go through all the recaps again? I heard there's definitely a question about the online forum.

Geez...I hate when it's BOTH essay AND exam... It's like my prof is in a weird love triangle (Wait! Can I use that analogy in my essay???)

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No, reading recaps alone may not be enough to earn you an A. To really sufficiently prepare you need to rewatch all the episodes again.

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But....I can't cram those... :'(

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This show was simply a rollercoaster ride of emotions that I didn't expect! Joon Young and Bo Young were simply adorable. I never thought I would like a show about infidelity and this one really puts you through a wringer... I loved the idea of an online community support group, kind of like what Dramabeans is to a lot of us.

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I LOVED this show and I feel so satisfied by it, even when I'm just thinking back on it.

PS there are claw machines for FRYING PANS?

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I really loved this show from beginning to end. I think one of the best things about the show is the support system found in the netizens and I also appreciated that some of them also had their own stories to tell.

It was great to watch our main characters struggle through their relationships and come out on the better end of things with new beginnings for all.

This is my favorite drama of the year and I definitely wish a lot more people had watched it and given it a chance.

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What a wild ride w/ this drama. I really didn't expect it to be as good/compelling as it was and it makes me really happy that Ji Hyo did a really good job (bc tbh I was the most worried for her after her last few drama roles). I'm not sure how I feel abt the ending just bc of my staunch stance against forgiving cheaters and the subsequent dislike I had for Soo Yeon (regardless of how sympathetic she is). BUT I've been riding hard for Hyun Woo since the beginning and if he's happy I'm happy. Don't know what I'm going to do w/ my weekends procrastinating now.

Also I loved Ara's revenge idk abt the whole potentially killing him but the very planned out revenge for him and all of his mistresses was great. though I would've loved to see the florist get more comeuppance (though ik some of y'all will disagree w/ me on that)

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"happy that Ji Hyo did a really good job (bc tbh I was the most worried for her after her last few drama roles)"

but to be honest, SJH was never really bad in her previous roles. She did well in Emergency Couple, able to show the pain of a divorcee trying to survive as a new doctor. She was bubbly and fresh as a producer in Ex-Girlfriends Club. She looks the part in sageuk setting, though her tone might be the only hindrance when speaking the "historical language". But other than that, she's not expressionless, monotonous, or unable to deliver an effective dialogue. Hence, I've always thought she performed satisfactorily with every project. It's just that she really shined in this performance.

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I don't mean that she was really bad or anything it's just that I never thought she suited the past 2 roles she had (I don't tend to watch historical dramas). I feel like this was a more grown up, dramatic role that /really/ fit her you know what I mean?

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I feel like screaming at Hyun-Woo to make up his mind. If your ex-wife is so important, why the hurry to divorce? Also they were jerking us around introducing Miss Toycrane and making it look like Hyun-Woo was moving on with his life. Now I guess he never will.

This Week, I Will Be As Indecisive And Angsty As Ever
Next Week, I Will Get Back Together With My Ex
The Week After, I Will Regret Not Having An Affair With The Lady Downstairs

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Well the make-up happened post divorce (clearly) and that's super important. The divorce served made them see life without one another and grow. He even mentions at the end that he was now able to leave the old Soo Yeon behind and focus on the new one. The divorce and the time apart are what led to him forgiving and forgetting what she did. I think it was a really fitting end.

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I beg to differ regarding SY as the weak link in the storyline. I honestly don't think we, the viewers, are meant to fully "get" SooYeon. the story is mostly from HW's point-of-view. and maybe I'm compensating for the writer for not fully fleshing out SY's character, but I feel that it was intended to be that way -- that we don't get a complete sense of why she did it, and why she's acting this way. maybe the viewers are really not meant to understand the "cheater" and the actions pre- or post-cheating... SY's not the heroine, but she ain't the villain either. She's there to put a spotlight on Hyun Woo. that's how I see it, if that makes sense.

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Yeah, I agree. I think some aspects of this show ie. Soo yeon were made vague(?) for a reason.

I think it may be not to put a face(?) on cheaters. To make it easier for audiences to imagine their own face (of a cheater) in order to relate to Hyun woo.

I suck at explaining my thoughts. Sry.

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I agree as well that it does seem to be intentional to leave Soo Yeon a bit vague. Also, it's my theory that the show intended for us viewers to be reflective of Toycrane's fanclub. We're all involved in his story because Hyun Woo is the one sharing his story and his thoughts online (and through the show). If you notice the way that narration is used - Hyun Woo narrated since the beginning of the show and we were always privy to his thoughts. Whereas the other characters didn't get to narrate (we had to gues what they're feeling based on their dialogue and expressions) - the only other narration came from Soo Yeon and it was during the moment she was in the act of posting her story online. This might be how we ended up with both Soo Yeon and Bo Young becoming so opaque when the time came for them to be making big decisions because we weren't sure what went on in their heads (very realistic approach).

I thought that was a very significant clue as to the intention behind the whole show (which chocolatte mentioned - a guy being cheated on and the social media aspect).

That said, I also agree that it would've been nice to see more of Soo Yeon's growth as well. But that would've made it into a different show and this is already perfect enough for me. Favourite drama of the year! This the first show that made me refresh Dramabeans recaps repeatedly - just to read everyone's discussion on this forum.

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I beg to differ on SY being the weakest link too (and the fact that there was a weakest link at all). The show only explicitly brought up SY's perspective in this final episode "in her own words". But I feel like the female perspective was woven throughout the story in more subtle ways. Also, I think the story is told from Hyun Woo's perspective because most drama viewers are female and in a way, it opens up a conversation and dialogue between the drama (and a well-meaning but oblivious husband) and the audience. It illustrates SY's perspective by showing not telling. It shows us her daily life and struggles at home and at work. I feel like most wives will be able to empathise and see glimpses of themselves through SY. I feel a lot of women will be able to relate to the sense of loss you feel when your identity is consumed by being someone's wife, someone's mother and you are no longer seen as an individual you. And that's why I think SY was drawn to someone else - a new stranger who comes into her life and approaches her as SY and helps her feel like herself again. The idea of meeting someone as herself, allowed her to feel like a woman again. She made an effort in dressing up, wearing more make up. For once, she lived for herself and it was all about her.

I think that is why the separation was so necessary. In a way, many people will think that it's redundant to have them divorce and reconcile... But the divorce allowed SY to learn to be by herself and learn to lean on HW. It took away her responsibility of being the perfect wife and took the pressure off their relationship. It took the pressure of having to pretend like the affair didn't happen and trying to forget it. That's impossible. But instead, they rebuilt something new.

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i think it's a lesson to young idealistic couples who enter marriage with all the dreams of a lovely, simple life - and the realities (especially in korea where potential employers CAN ask you about your marital status, helllloooo!!) of married life brings its own load of issues. they can be dealt with, but communication is imperative! no marriage survives without communication, and even still, it is very hard work to maintain a successful, fair, working marriage.

it's much easier to break up/divorce than stay together, so both sides have to want to make it work and put in the effort to grow together.

i liked the ending very much!

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Being in a relationship is making the conscious decision that you're choosing that person to love everyday, we've been sold this illusion that once you're in a happy relationship or marriage then everything else gets miraculously solved and we don't need to put in any effort, it's from here that we begin to take our loved ones for granted and things fall a part. Which was the clear case with Hyunwoo & Sooyeon that's why by the time we end this episode and drama I'm happy to see that there has been changes (whether big or small) being made on both their parts, these changes indicate a more positive outcome whether they give their relationship another chance down the line or keep it platonic.

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Early this year, I discovered my dad might be cheating.

It took a toll on me and I just get suspicious almost everyday. I fully get the anxiety HyunWoo got but unlike him, I choose not to confront it.

Cheating aside, my dad has been a good husband to my sick mother and a great father to us. I choose to think that this is his problem to deal with.

I think he's more like Soyeon, which made me wonder how the heck they find time to cheat in midst of being busy?

I forgive my dad because I do think he is a great person.

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This is such a lovely and unique drama. There are many dramas out there with the theme of affair, but there are not many that feature the female lead as the transgressor. There are plenty of dramas showing growth by the male leads, but not many have the whole drama told only from the male lead's point of view. And certainly I am not aware of any show that weaves in the cyber community into the main narrative as well and as seamlessly as this show has managed to do. Chocolatte is correct that this is "through and through, Hyun-woo’s story: a story about his growth as a husband and father, and as a human being searching for understanding and comfort over the internet." It's not perfect by any means, but with so much heart in its story-telling featuring non-cookie-cutter, layered, realistic characters, combined with top-notched acting from the entire cast, and creative directing, this has got to be one of the best shows this year, for sure the most-underrated. Thank you Chocolatte and CandidClown for the lovely recaps and for providing a space for us to share our thoughts on the show. I will miss this show so much.

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It's wrapped!!
Happy and sad at the same time..
Actually i was worrying about the pretty neighboard, Does Hyun Woo fall for her ?
And i was relieved after watched the ending.. Huufft :D
Though it's not crystal clear they will getting together, at least they both had moved on, they were ready to start the fresh and better beginning..

So happy finally Bo Young made up her mind, i would mad at her if she insists to keep the child on her own :D love these cutie pie's anyway..

Yoon Ki, have you ever heard KARMA is a bitch??
Well you get to know better about her from now on :D :D

And very sad to say goodbye to this drama, that made all of beanies became PHD's :X

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I think the feeling of "why did they even get divorced if they're getting back together" is partly (mainly?) due to the episode cut. I remember seeing that the show was slated for 16 episodes at the start but got cut down to 12 somewhere after the 2nd episode. So maybe the writer had originally wanted them to spend time (and episodes) apart and maybe give us a few episodes under SY's pov but those had to be condensed into one final episode instead.

Ara & Yoon Ki we're always the extreme couple in my opinion. I don't think they were suppose to be a depiction of reality but rather an exaggerated representation (for dark comedy purposes maybe?). Although I didn't really care for them mid-way through the show.

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No, ever since they first announced this project they already said this would have only 12 episodes.

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Well, I'm pleased with how this show ended. This realistic drama has been pretty consistent and good overall.

I like seeing the Toycrane group meet-up. I didn't recognize the convenience store clerk until the meeting!!! It was awesome seeing how the online users changed for the better after being connected to Hyun Woo's story and how he was affected by them.

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I had trouble recognising the store clerk as well but watched the scene twice because it struck me weird that she said something along the lines of "be happy" to HW and *ahempardonmydirtymind* but I thought did HW buy something peculiar to make her say that because he was with the neighbour and I was like ... this is not where I thought this drama would be going... Then I realised she was the recluse that had found a new leash on life.

In my defence, this was on cable haha.

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Ahhh...it is over. This drama had one of the most realistic endings. My only hang up was that Soo-yeon did not put in much effort to it make up to Hyun-Woo. Even at the end, the husband was still the one doing everything and trying to get back with her. Plus her reason for cheating was kind of so so. Anyway, I still think they did a good job on the adultery theme.

Joon-young and Bo-young are so cute...with their bickering. I laughed so hard with his picture everywhere when she came back to her apartment.

Promesa...I died laughing at the broke Yoon Ki (I still felt a little pity though). He deserved everything Ara was dishing out. What an ass!!!

Now, am done to watching only two dramas - Weightlifting Fairies and Goblin.

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yeah i agree with what you said, that the reason for e affair was so so.

However it is so true to its realistic depiction of real marriage. coz affair starts innocent and most of the time not because of huge transgression but because of daily neglect to treat your partner right or to communicate properly

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It's been awhile for me as well since I was satisfied from the beginning to the end in watching a drama. This ending gave me a full-on closure with the story and its characters. I am glad I did watch its entire run because it easily became one of my favorite dramas of the year together with Signal and Age of Youth. I was hesitant at first because it is an adultery drama but while I was watching, I believed it focused more on how the main couple tried to reconcile and re-kindle their marriage the best way they can. I find the storytelling very real and the characters relatable. Maybe, except for Yoon-Ki and Ara's relationship, I guess they were meant to be the outrageous, over-the-top, and dramatic part of the show. Even then, their marriage represents the dysfunctional ones which really do exist in real-life.

I cried my heart out on the last two episodes and understood Soo-Yeon more. I hated her character because she was so frustrating but then we get to see how her life was like daily. I am like her, a competent salary woman. I, too, would not want to give up on my work just to be a full-time mother. It is an aspect of my life that I hope my future husband would understand - it is my place of growth to improve on my abilities and be sucessful on what I love to do. I hope that I would not experience what she did but I guess I am blessed I do not live in Korea. In my country, working moms are normal and my company gives importance to family. With Soo-Yeon's experience, I pity her so much, especially that part when she did not get a promotion being a divorcee. This reminds me again of the drama "Misaeng" wherein one of its episodes discussed the gender inequality in Korea's workplace. Everything is so much harder when you are a woman. This would not happen when you are man and is a divorcee. I truly understood why Soo-Yeon cracked under pressure and thus had an affair. I do not justify the cheating but I learned to empathize and understood why she made an mistake.

Also, I'd like to give a shout-out to Toycrane's followers! It is lovely to see how the online community continued their relationship offline. It was fun to see them altogether. I can just imagine if us beanies would meet up in real life and talk about our favorite dramas over coffee or dinner. Aahhh, it got me giddy and excited there for a bit.

Thanks to everyone who commented and shared their experiences! Thanks to the recappers! It was fun. :)

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Hmmm …. I can not comment on if Korea has the gender bias in the work place for promotion. However, what I can comment here is that the consequence of affair, after it was found out, could cause a lot of issues, problems, and disaster. For SY, she could not focus on her works any more. Her work timeline completion and work quality might not be as good as it was. I would think that was the reason that she did not get promoted. The Writer should not link or tie the poor performance VS the gender bias.

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Died at the constipation. Oh Joon-young, why do you make me laugh and cry at the same time?

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Soo... some oneee.. give me a new light pleasee.. is that mean that in the end they'll try to get together again? (SY-HW couple)

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On the topic of "Was divorce really necessary if they're just getting back together anyway?"

I think the divorce works very well in a narrative sense because humans are creatures of symbolism. People constantly surround themselves with rituals, memoirs, and objects that transform the emotional or abstract into tangible objects. Wedding rings are a great example; they're a physical reminder of the commitment two spouses have made to each other. And along the same lines, a marriage ceremony helps us visualize the love and promises that already exist between two people. Just as marriage sends a powerful message, as does divorce. SY and HW needed something to represent a clean break, perhaps even a way of "atoning" for the mistakes in their past marriage. Why? Because emotions are messy, and using something with clear lines can helps us define where we stand and clarify our thoughts to others. This almost reminds me of when people write their worries on a few rocks, then drop said rocks into the middle of the ocean. Doing so can help one get rid of those worries.

In other words, divorce functions as SY and HW's rocks that they're throwing out into the water. Yeah they could've chosen some thing else to serve the same purpose, but it's like divorce was the only force or action strong enough symbolically to represent their new life.

So in a narrative sense, the divorce works great. In real life, I don't think getting a divorce is that easy or clear cut. With all the stress and money involved, SY and HW might have used a different grand gesture instead. Like getting rocks and throwing them in a lake.

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doormat: you are the only one for me

justified rofls

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Aw...now that the drama is over I guess our Phd thesis is almost complete?

I have no problem with the ending but I like that they did not shove a happy ever after ending into our face. Till the end I thought the show dealt delicately with our main couple...just hinting at the possibility of them working their way back to each other is undoubtedly better than showing them lovey dovey and problem free. If the show had wanted HW to move on, I would also prefer that it was shown off screen. For better or worse we have been with these two for the past 12 episodes, I find it hard to connect to a new character just to give HW closure of a different kind.

Whether or not a divorce is necessary is kind of subjective, personally I am ok with both. However I do like how some of our beanies commented that it represented a clean break of sorts for HW and SY. Without the subconscious burden of having to make their marriage work, they probably interacted more comfortably as exes. And with their newfound knowledge and understanding of themselves and their other halves, they can decide if they really want to be together again.

Now that the show is over, I will miss these thoughtful insights from beanies. I might not agree with all, which was what prompted me to comment in the first place but I guess that's normal. As long as we respect and try to always consider things from different perspectives, even if our conclusion still remains different I believe we all gain something in the process. Cheers all.

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I think what they meant with a clean break is the two can interact with each other without the pressure of making the marriage work for the marriage's sake.

So I think you and the other commenters are saying the same thing. :) The divorce "reset" them into two separate individuals who exert effort into getting to know each other, rather than just a husband-wife pair going through the motions of marriage.

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But does anyone know the actress who plays HyunWoo's quirky neighbor? I know I've seen her in another drama but I don't remember which!!

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I think it is Oh Yoon-ah and she is currently in Oh My Geum-bi. She was also in Angry Mom and You're All Surrounded.

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I wonder, are we ever going watch a series or drama where , when the female lead does something completely wrong, she doesn't get her perfect happy ending?

I was reading some comments on a site and someone made a really good question. If it was the male lead who cheated his wife, for the same exactly non - reason that the female protagonist cheated in this show, how many of you would want them to end up together? How many of you would have justified his behavior and rooting for them to save their marriage?

I feel that the female audience in general has this attitude that the woman is always in the right and the man always in the wrong. No matter what stupid, idiotic, irrational thing she does. I think it's time for a bit of change.

Personally, i wasn't satisfied with the ending and i found it too Disney and perfect . I didn't believe that couple should end up together. But of course the show wanted to satisfy the female audience, so they opted for the happier, unrealistic ending.

By the way, it would be interesting to see a drama where the male lead cheates his partern for no reason. I would really like to see the reaction of the audience in that case. Let's hope someone has the courage to produce a similar drama.

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Come to think of it, has there been any drama where the lead, female or male, does something this offensive to the other lead directly? A drama in which he or she is the antagonist to the protagonist for the entire run of the series?

But back to your main question, I don't find the main couple's reconciliation to be unrealistic at all. Relationships survive affairs all the time and for a myriad of reasons. She is remorseful and grateful and he is willing to forgive her and become a more involved partner. Maybe it's rare, but not at all far-fetched.

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If they ever make a drama like that, with the same amount of thoughtfulness, I will be very interested to see how myself and the general female audience as you put it, will react. We could probably produce another PhD thesis!

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I know it's been a while since ur comment, but just want to give another perspective here.

"If it was the male lead who cheated his wife, for the same exactly non – reason that the female protagonist cheated in this show, how many of you would want them to end up together? How many of you would have justified his behavior and rooting for them to save their marriage?"

>> I guess, it depends on the story line. The reason this drama works and hits home to a lot of us is because of its a social commentary about marriage, adultery, and women's place in society in general. Most of the empathy towards the female lead comes not because we're also female so we find everything women did - no matter how irrational or idiotic as you put it - right. But more as a result of how this drama portrays her story arc: a stoic reserved woman who is taught (and teaches herself) to be the perfect woman, mother, and wife.

Say, if it's a story about a married man who falls in love with another woman but the man is like Yoon-ki, then probably he won't get much sympathy from the audiences.

But, if it's about a married man who works while taking care of the household, and his kid - with a similarly busy woman but does little with the household and childrearing, probably yes.

Or, about a married man who is also a salary man trying to take care his job, his kid, his household, and his sick wife -- maybe also yes.

So, I don't know. It depends on the story, and the kind of background story it departs from.

"I feel that the female audience in general has this attitude that the woman is always in the right and the man always in the wrong. No matter what stupid, idiotic, irrational thing she does. I think it’s time for a bit of change."

>> I don't know if we're watching the same show, and reading the same forum here in DB, I find ur comment a bit condescending to women. The people commenting in DB express diverse opinions on both the male and female lead. Lots of critical view on why the relationship in the drama falters - e.g. about timing; the couple is just so out of sync with each other. Also, I've come across people commenting about how hard it is to emphatise with the female lead as she seems to show very little character growth, and little to no atonement. So I don't know how you come to that conclusion that women will always think women are right no matter what they do. A lot of us are also capable of critical thinking.

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I think one of my biggest learnings from this drama is that marriage is a continuous, conscious choice. Personally, I believe that you can love many different people in many different ways. Because humans are complex and emotional creatures, I don't think you can limit all your romantic and deep love for a "one and only". Instead, to uphold your marriage, you must consciously make decisions to put them as your top priority and consciously avoid straying. Whilst I don't believe in being a relationship where you can't be yourself and have the freedom to have friends of the opposite sex, I also can't deny that there will always be potential sparks between men and women. However, it's about knowing when it's time to walk away to preserve your marriage and it is definitely a very thin line to tread. That's why I do understand why affairs happen, whilst I understand the moral reasons why everyone is against them (and for the most part, I am too barring extenuating circumstances). However, I would say I am more inclined than most to also understand why they happen and accept that they will always happen because people change and feelings change all the time.

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I found this drama great for several reasons.
First, the narrative was well written.
Second, it was well casted and acted.
Third, the whole drama comprised 12 episodes - so it was well paced.
Fourth, the marital breakdown in the drama was not caused by a difficult and unreasonable in-law but lay the problem squarely on the couple.
Fifth, although the drama was about infidelity, it was very chaste. SY and SW only held hands through the car window.
HW & SY were seen kissing on their wedding day.
The translated subtitles were very prompt.
Lastly, the dramabeans team did a great job recapping and all of you shared your comments.

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I was going through my list of dramas to watch this year and happened to add this last minute after reading positive reviews from fellow beanies and recappers in the What We're Watching posts. I never expected to love it this much, but I do. It's strange because I never would have thought the story would grab me as much as it did since I'm not part of a married couple, never have been, I am neither in a relationship nor am I at the age where it's possible to personally experience situations like divorce and affairs. My parents are together and fortunately don't seem to be dealing with these issues and hopefully never will. However, the realness and artistry in the way the story was told made it so interesting, entertaining and thought-provoking that I couldn't help but fully appreciate this drama from start to finish.

I love everything about it -- the writing, the tone, the cast and their acting. I love how they were able to seamlessly weave in the little Toycrane fanclub / netizen group and the way we were allowed to see their lives and interactions outside of the forum. I like that we were able to see them make progress in their own situations together with Toycrane Hyunwoo. I think the Toycrane community was one of the things that made this a gem of a drama. Of course there's also the Joonyoung + Boyoung couple and their constant bickering! Ugh, I need there to be a spin-off with those two as the leads! Out of the dramas I've watched this year, this would have to be my favorite as of now. I've still yet to see Signal so the list might change, haha.

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Welcome to the fan club! This is the only drama that makes me refresh the recapped pages just to see the new comments posted.

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I think this drama propounded the "wisdom of the crow" theory quite interestingly in reel life.
Many commenters are still debating whether SY has "grown" or learned from her experience.
My take on it is an overwhelming "Yes". Let me explain. First, she apologised countless times to HW. Second, she felt remorse for it, recognising it had hurt HW, to the extent that she could not forgive herself for it. Third, she took sole responsibility for it on the blog site. Fourth, she stopped meeting SW anymore. Fifth, though disappointed she didn't get promoted, she accepted it. Sixth, even though divorced, she still tried to change by spending couple time with HW, sharing her workplace feelings with him, and even offering to go over to his office. I believe that all along, she never stopped loving HW and she didn't have an affair to divorce him. On the contrary, I thought her hopes were raised when HW wrote on the blog that he had forgiven her. I also sensed her disappointment when she saw HW eating happily with the woman neighbor and saw her packed food in his fridge. But instead of clinging on to him, she freed him to be happy again.
This ending was a very nice twist. I guess, I'm at root a romantic and I enjoyed this romantic drama.

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Very good summary and comments. What I was so frustrated about this K-drama was SY’s character which I wondered that the Writer made it on purpose. SY had a communication problem which was not clear leading to different thought or meaning. Her expression was against her feeling. She still loved her husband HW and knew that HW was a good person who loved and cared her much and now she hurt him. However, in some scenes, she was supposed to cry out but she did not - the scene when she talked with her old friends, the scene when she read TOYCRANE’s post, etc. I also did not understand her feeling why she did not feel angry, upset, or sad after her ex-lover, whom said that he loved her during the confrontation with HW at the hotel room, dumped and requested her boss to take her out from the project that she had worked hard on to completely end their relationship. SY just accepted, had no p-say, and let it go.

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After reading javabeans' year-end review about this, I gave it a watch. Two days later, I'm done. lol.

This show was hard to watch because it was too realistic in some parts. I regret not watching it as it aired because there were really great discussions that went on here at dramabeans and I couldn't participate in them. Also, it was really hard to watch this at once.

It's too bad that Sooyeon's character didn't get fleshed out. It felt to me that the show is trying really hard to justify why she cheated, which is something that will never be justified. I was so frustrated because she keeps everything to herself. Hyunwoo had a really great improvement from episode one to now but nothing much really happened to her. I thought it was unfair because I can't say I've liked her all throughout the drama despite her working hard as a mom to Junsu.

I love how the internet was shown here with faces and it gave us a peek of what their lives are like outside the screen.

Anyway, I liked the show and I'm happy that I gave it a try. Thank you for the recaps! I always come here to read every time I finish an episode.

P.S: BoA-Lee Sangyub needs to happen irl

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*"wisdom of the crow" should be "wisdom of the crowd".

With hindsight, we are now aware of these:
1. HW loved SY. His demands for a divorce from SY were just angry and "knee jerk" outbursts.
2. SY also loved HW. She liked him first, was fully aware of his shortcomings, and did not have an affair with a divorce in mind.
3. Her affair gave her a brief respite from her stress and helplessness.
4. Her affair with SW had no future as both had no intentions to leave their spouses and children.
5. However, SY recognised that the affair would have continued like chasing a balloon onto the road if HW had not discovered and stopped it.
6. For those that doubted the wisdom of HW confronting SW and informing his wife, let me say that SY & SW's may not have ended so effectively.
7. HW was not to extreme if his dealing with their affair though it may be highly emotional - he could have revealed SW's affair in front of his wife, kids, neighbours, and work colleagues.
8. If he had raised a stink at SY's workplace, she would have lost her job and dignity, not just her promotion.
9. HW could have divorced SY on the grounds of adultery and claimed custody and damages from SY.
10. SY realised she lost what she treasured when she saw that another woman may have taken what she "threw away". I think this great sense of loss will teach her to value HW later.
11. Their divorce enabled them to go, grow, and start over or reset their relationship.
Finally, we have learned much about the ravages of infidelity.

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I love your list and from it one has to conclude that Hyun Woo is a good and decent man who behaves perfectly within the boundary of normal given the bombshell that landed on his lap. And Soo Yeon's biggest growth is her realization of this fact. In the end this is not just a story of HW's coming to value his wife more but that SY will learn to treasure her husband more, if not much more. I may not make sense here but I just want to tell you how much I love what you wrote.

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I really liked your comments here. It seemed like both SY and her lover SW loved each other (probably as much as or more than what they loved their own husband/wife and family) but they could not stay together because they did not want to leave their family. So, they would continue to have an affair (if it was not found out by HW) without any thinking to leave their own family. They had their own excusing imagination that affair without divorce thinking was the way to protect their own family. It sounded ridiculous and silly excuse. Both SY and SW were definitely SELFISH. When the cheaters had an affair, they enjoyed their happiness moment WITHOUT any caring that they were hurting their partners’ feelings. The consequence of an affair, when found out, could be much worse than ones imagined …. family broken, hurting people, job disasters, etc. For SY, when her son grew up and asked her the question of why HW and SW had divorced, did she dare to tell her son that the divorce was due to her affair?

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Between SY and SW, SY loved him more than he loved her. After they were caught up red-handed, he was the one who dumped her and ended their relationship. Although her affair was found out, SY might not feel regret much firstly as she acted so calmly when she said to her husband that she was sorry for what she had done. But when her ex-lover SW dumped her, she now realized that her ex-lover might not love her as she had originally thought. So, she began to feel sorry and guilty for adultery that she had done.

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I'm glad I found and finished this drama. It is one of my fave dramas this year. This drama anyway has whole package : great directing, great ensemble cast, plus interesting moral story. I did cry and laugh at the same time. The main draw of this drama for me was LEE SUN GYUN. I did not know him at all and never watch his dramas or films before. But from the 1st episode, He was the main reason I was glued to the screen, because He made me care about Do Hyun Woo whatever pity he could be. I really felt his agony as an ordinary husband. What a natural performance! I cant wait to see his movies coming up next year and hopefully he will do another drama.

As for the ending, everyone may have different opinion, as for me it has a message that there's hope and great possibility that one person can also save the marriage. From the way I see in this drama, it's the husband who did great effort to save the family. Though he gave up at first but later he fights for it. The ending where Joon Soo is smiling was so BEAUTIFUL. I'm in tears. Bravo.

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And I am near tears just reading your tribute to this drama and the actor who made us care for the plight of the husband. You brought back all the feels from my first watch.

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I honestly can't seem to accept the end simply because of the disparity in the way the cheaters are treated. Soo yeon gets a happily ever after while Yoonki is made to be a dog to be beaten up for chuckles. Does gender really matter in how people are treated for betrayal/adultery?

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I suggest JTBC plan season 2. Continue to realistic but relevant narrative of "marriage under repair" instead of "they lived happily ever after" troupes.
It would be nice to see SY flee other infidelity "honey traps"; Joon Soo to cope with his "children of divorce" problems; and the "Young" (Joon & Bo) rebuild their new family from the "ashes"of their previously failed relationships.
A realistic season 2 about life after divorce will better inform us that while marriage is a social norm, we also need to be aware that 20-40 percent of married people have affairs. Viewers can gain a balanced perspective of marriage and divorce.

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That would be great though.

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Can anyone please tell what song is it in the background at 1:03:21.

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You mean the song at the very end where they stand looking at each other? It must be "Look at Me" by Park Won. It's such a beautiful song and so perfect for that scene.

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Thanks MapleSilver, I am learning korean. Thus, I don't yet have enough fluency to identify such things by words.

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Thanks once again. I have finally got delivery of the OST album and it is this song "사랑이라오". Thanks once again MapleSilver.

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Sorry for not checking more carefully and for giving you the wrong info. I am very glad you got the song you were looking for and thanks for sharing it here. I've enjoyed so much the music of this drama.

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I wish Jihyo would do a rom-com next time

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Is it just me or I feel annoyed for some reason. Soo yeon and Yoon Ki are both cheaters but why the massively different treatment? Soo yeon gets to have a decent life and chance of restarting her relationship with her ex while Yoon Ki becomes a dog to be beat on. Do people really think this is okay and all is fine? Does gender matter in adultery/betrayal?

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I believe it's more to society and WHY did the affair happen. Is it because I spent less time with my husband/wife, was it a one time in a situation of weakness or being taken advantage off? It can vary from one relationship to another and it's rarely the same.

Also Yoon-Ki's storyline is the only weak point of this drama and should be removed if you ask me.

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Actually, both SY’s and Yoon-Ki’s intentionally cheating characters are about the same. They both intentionally lied to their partners and looked forward to the adultery and did not plan to stop the affair relationships. The difference was SY had an affair with a married man but YK had affairs with several girls.

If we carefully thought, SY was more selfish compared to YK b/c she had an affair with a married man who had wife and kids. If her lover’s wife wanted to divorce and her lover’s family was broken due to the affair, SY would be the one who destroyed that family to serve her own happiness or relief her stress.

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For me Seo yeons character is not weak if we flesh put her character we may end up hating her more. They use the imaginations of her mistakes no need to elaborate the happines she had with Sun woo. Although we all suspect took advantage of Seo Yeons lonely life at first before he was fully immersed in a relationship. I believe there was a lot of push and pull happenes within 6months and lately Seo Yeons surrenders to the feelings as seen on the episodes. Gradually you can see the realization after she was caught and guilt comes to her senses and forgot about Joon Soo. Though we do not need to see the justifications already as it was gmagain gradually seen it was amplified that she was a bit tricked by Sun woo as he requested to take her out on the project and realizing the mistakes and repercussions of what she did and accepts defeat on all aspects. She knows she has reasons and knows it is not an excuse because she was too focused to be a perfect wife and yet succumb to her weakness for passion for love and attention which she accepted that she just need to complain and talk to her husband. Finally Hyun woo got matured and sensitive thinking on bigger picture sadly he did not use his rationalle at that time overall i am so moved and satisfied to this drama

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Very good comment. I loved it !! … when I rewatched this drama to understand SY more, I seemed to dislike her more. I suspected the same thought that her lover SW might not love her and took advantage on her weakness/ loneliness although the story did not clearly show that way.

Although the story did not clearly show that she loved SW, her expressions, as seen in the entire series, were shown oppositely. What I saw in this drama that made me feel so disappointed to her character, although she acted as an innocent girl, were:-

* SY was a thoughtful woman. So, if she felt guilty for her 1st affair mistake about six months ago, she should NOT repeat the same 2nd mistake. If she dared to repeat the same mistake and allow another man to physically tough her body, it meant that she was in love with that man and might not love her husband or neither care to hurt his feeling. She did hide her betrayal under her smiling in the past 6 months.
* SY intentionally lied to her husband about the end of her office meeting timing such that she could be with her lover after the meeting ended. She was an unfaithful woman who could go to face her son just right after she had an affair with another man who was not her son’s father?
* During the three’s confrontation at the hotel room, when Hw noticed that his wife did not wear her wedding ring and asked the question if she actually loved her lover. She was reluctant to answer and her lover just quickly jumped-in saying that they were playing with fire. It seemed to me her reluctance was due to the fact that she felt in love with SW.
* She acted so calmly when the wife/husband firstly talked at home while saying that she was sorry and did not do this to get divorce. She was lying to him pretending like there was no affair happening because her husband caught up earlier. However, her husband did not trust and ask her if she had slept with SW before which she could not deny.
* She just wanted to temporarily stop her relationship with SW and hoped that her relationship with SW would not yet end as they both were still working on a project.
* It was her lover SW and clearly NOT her who ended their relationship. When she reported her job handover progress to SW although she had known that he was the one who requested her boss to move her out from the project, she did not feel upset and complained SW that he should inform her earlier. This scene confused me. She could complain SW here BUT she had dared to complain her stresses to her husband. When SW replied back that he did not want to contact her personally, the scene did not clearly show that she felt sad although realizing that her ex-lover was dumping her. It sounded like she had no feeling and just accepted the truth. She had quite a complicated character.
* She did not express her deeply sadness or cry out (heavily) when realizing that her husband loved her although she betrayed him. There was no crying scene such as when she talked...

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* She did not express her deeply sadness or cry out (heavily) when realizing that her husband loved her although she betrayed him. There was no crying scene such as when she talked with her old friend; when she read TOYCRANE’s posts, etc … Did she still love her husband?
* The story did not show that she begged forgiveness from anyone. It was hard to me to decide if she truly felt remorseful and dared to not beg for forgiveness … or if she did not feel much guilty for her adultery mistake.

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I just finished this series and boy do I have my thoughts, I think both the main characters were pretty indecisive and took divorce too lightly. Why would you make that hole mess hurting your kid and parents if by 3-5 months later you’ll be back at it, makes no sense to me. But I’m glad they finally got a clue about what they really wanted.
And come on guys! :( I feel bad for Yoon Ki, he was my favorite character, I don’t think he was annoying , yes he was a mean man who didn’t regard his wife feelings and how much hurt he was giving her but I think he got his lesson and I believe both of them Yoon Ki and Ah Ra had very unique an particular personalities that after all the hurt and mistakes could have really kicked it off, I would’ve wish some closure with this couple after all we have no clue what Ah Ra told to the mistress, COME ON, 12 episodes waiting her revenge and I have to make up it up in my mind making wild guesses, I hate when that happens, it leaves me hanging. I really did wished for this couple to strive forward, yes Ah Ra suffered but so did Yoon Ki afterwards. :(
I know Yoon Ki is not handsome and so but saying that you wanted to puke whenever he had a love scene is kindda mean, there’s an actual person behind that character, you know? Even ugly people get to have sex, no big deal.

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I wonder what did Ah ra say to that girl at her wedding day which left her weeping so bad??

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I was quite disappointed in the finale. I was truly hoping they wouldn't get back together. Not that they should be at each other throats, but basically collaborating civilly to take care of the kid, but not even that close. It's not even really that believable, for all the talk of realism. Consider the time frame this is all taking place, and tell me if such a fast evolution is realistic. They spend 6 months lying tho the guy. He puts his feelings behind him so easily? I can't really see it.

I didn't really feel there war proportionality. You can either be self centered, worry about your problems and not show enough care for your partner to break his trust, hurt and humiliate her or him, or you can be honest and talk about your problems. Or let them fester and break up. You don't owe anyone your love, you hove them basic respect.

Lack of care and communication are a problem (on both sides, by the way). That's a 10 vs a 10000. The equivalent of violently insulting someone with racial slurs vs involuntarily offending her or him by mistake. In one case, a deliberate act, in the other, something you didn't intend to do.

Pretty good difference morally and ethically.

I don't really agree with the theme of them being "new people". They are not really new people. There is no medicine that erases the past. Forgetting is simply being deluded, none of our actions can be erased, and we have to live with the consequences. And actions speak louder than words.

You might love someone. But, if you never considered the possibility that she or he could cheat on you, then the map was not following the territory, in other words, the person you loved simply resembled externally the real individual. You loved the former, an illusion, not the latter. It makes as much sense to put on her or him your affection as it would be to put it on her or his twin. They are externally similar, that's all.

I see this rather unambiguously. Unknowingly not showing enough care and cheating are like a cough and cancer. Both illness, both problems, no doubt. Not really comparable. And if you are the kind of person that would be so self centered and nacissistic that, let alone ignoring your partner, would even trample on her or his dignity instead of beaking things off cleanly, that says something fundamental about you, morally. Not everybody would do that, some would, other wouldn't. That's a pretty fundamental distinction, and a boundary that I don't feel would be unreasonable to set. It's a pretty low bar to meet someone that wouldn't cheat, I would have given the new pretty neigbourn a chance, rather than retreating in fear and delusion. He verbally claimed that it's not, but I don't see any evidence of it. Might come down to personal values, or fundamental self respect.

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With the last paragraph, what I wanted to say is not that you should expect your loved ones to horribly betray you (among other things, because thankfully those who would do so are not the majority, which incidentally means that you might easily do better), but rather that if they did, they were quite obviously not who you thought they were, and it makes absolutely no sense to put on them the feeling you had for the fake person in your head.

For that matter, it's not as if I didn't get her side of the stories or reasons. I just thought that they were reasons, maybe realistic reasons, but not good reasons. I don't think that they make improve her case from a moral standpoint, and can't really empathize with her. There are things I could see myself doing, and thing I could not. I am just not that kind of person, so I couldn't really say, "okay, in her place I would find it reasonable to act that way". Realistic, yes. Reasonable, no.

I am confident that I would ask better of myself, and thus of my partner. I am also not pretending to be a saint. For example, I unashamedly admit that I wouldn't be willing to forgive, let alone forget, let alone be friends. I would be civil when interacting in the care of the child, but try to spend the least time possible with the other person. On the other hand, I don't really think that doing the opposite would be morally superior.

He had a chance to date a better girl. Better? Yes, defined as someone who at least didn't cheat on him. That's one step up, past a pretty low bar, in my opinion. He didn't *really* give it a fair go. He didn't enter a new relationship. There are claims that he did, and he didn't, in fact, rationalize his choices and fear of the unknown, but in my opinion that's what he did.

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I think that there is something vaguely delusional in his perspective.

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I kinda liked the wife's post (though it's hard to understand... here affair was "doomed from the start", but at the same time had he not caught them she admits she would still be cheating on him). Much saner than his take.

I kinda prefer Ara's approach, to be honest, though I would strip away most of the craziness. I also can't really get past the fact that Yon-ki get thrown under the bus. I don't really think that cheating because one is bored and horny is morally inferior to cheating because overworked in any significant way. The complete betrayal and humiliation of the one you claim to love being the operative concepts here.

A distinction without a difference, excuses and self delusion aside.

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I really found Bo's story more relatable than the MC's. He was certainly unattentive and took his wife for granted. I think that this partly worked both ways (the anniversary, the inability to communicate... he is not a mind reader). Over time the roles switched and her perspective became more reasonable (while he essentially fustigated himself, which I didn't find reasonable... he had been an inattentive asshole, but never intentionally hurt his wife, while she betrayed his trust, and deceived him for half a year, intentionally... those are not comparable slights). I truly hoped that they wouldn't end up together, and that he would give a serious thought about taking a look around. I can't really relate to her because even with him being an asshole that took her for granted, putting myself in her shoes I still can't empathize with her or feel what she did was in any way, shape or form reasonable or acceptable. I don't really thing it's forgivable, and in her place wouldn't dare to ask to be forgiven, wouldn't think I deserve it (I can empthatize on her in that respect, thuogh she didn't keep it up). She is a cheating wife, and him a cuckhold, that's the reality. Words won't explain it away, and she can't do anything to undo what she did. We are not "new people", we are the same people that did whatever we did in the past, we can't *actually* avoid our responsibility with some questionable, pseudo-religious BS like that.

I would understand her wanting to split up with him, and would have no complaints about that. It would be honest and show a modicum of respect. Humiliating him, betraying his trust and deceiving him for half a year, intentionally, without any indication that she would stop... that's something that says something about hes fundamental character that I can't help but be suspicious of. I triggers immediate disgust in me, and as I couldn't imagine doing that to anyone, even if I didn't love him, let alone if I did, similarly, I can't seem to be able to think of her as deserving of redemption. I simply don't like her because for me this is a moral event orizon (barring cases where there is actual moral equality, which with all the faults on both sides, I don't see here, such as if he was abusive or he cheated on her, in which case he would deserve that and more, jail included... I feel this is kind of the way things are with Ara, which I think has showed much more spine and courage than our self-flagellating MC).

MC was kind of disappointincg. Was hoping he would retain a professional, if cold, relationship with his ex wife, learn from his mistakes, acknowledge them with equanimity, but at the same time understanding that he didn't, in fact *cause* the betrayal, but was a victim of it (his wife is a person, she has to take responsibility for her actions, and with all he did and didn't do, he didn't deserve the humiliation, pain and lies that carried on for months on end behind his back). He was there...

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He was there more or less at the middle of this thing. He could have taken his lessons to his next relationship, acknowledging at the same time that while ha had made mistakes, he really didn't deserve to be treated so beyond the pale -almost no one does... as I have explained, I would have been ok with his wife leaving him and telling him she doesn't love him anymore), and essentially showing he understands boundaries and has a spine and some self respect, as well as confidence in his ability to find someone better (i.e. someone that wouldn't cheat on him). I found his mom kind of insufferable, and disliked the old ladies, wife and lover, a bit for the same lack of spine. Loved Aga and Bo-young. The MC's self deception and lack of self respect dropped to the lowest point when he apologized to his wife for not being able, so soon after the event, to forget that she lied to him for six months and was seeing another man. That is, he apologized for not being an amoeba with flat-lined cerebral activity, but a mammal that evolution provided with a memory for a reason. That said, this last almost Chistological, masochistic self deception was almost as disappointing and hard to swallow.

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More than anything, I feel he didn't really give meeting other, objectively better (i.e. they didn't cheat on him, a big plus and a small bar) people. He didn't know his wife (heck, he didn't know *himself*). He has this delusion that now she is a different person. No one is a different person, we are what we do, and she can't erase what she did. If she was a stranger which had demonstrated the propensity to cheat when confronted with difficulties in life, that's not a "new person" someone mentally normal would be thrilled to have a relationship with. Add to add the MC's wife's lover's wife to the list of disliked characters, for her unabashed forgiveness of the guy more than for the righteous anger towards the MC's wife (really wasn't satisfied with the MC's wife's handling of "that" situation, she knew he had a wife and kids and didn't give a damn, but no further reflection... besides the fact that she apparently was convinced they had the "right" to deal with the consequences of their actions at their own pace).

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Joon-soo kinda saves the day

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Kinda wish they were the MC.

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I would tab the as the only "genuinely good", non-hypocritical adults in this thing (the MC going from an asshole to something in the middle to a spineless creature with no self respect to speak of, a model for his progeny, presumably traumatized by the self centered adults' antics, *not* to imitate... some oscillations, but lastly settling on the latter). This is one of the cases where I would have preferred an ambiguous finale to the definite knowledge that this masochistic, boneless primate goes back to his master with unreasonable, smug self confidence he has no reason to hold.

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At least in the previous chapters she seemed to understand that after what she had done to him, she didn't deserve to be together. I wanted that trend to continue, and for her to keep him away because she thought that he deserved better (someone who didn't cheat on him). At certain points in the process, she seemed to react almost with frustration to the fact that he would dare to complain or to bring up her affair "again" (half a year of his life... he has to put it past it at the snap of the fingers, and beat himself up that he -obviously- can? Whose fault is that?). I found the fact that she was willing to accept his money and full custody galling.

The act of keeping him away because she understand that she doesn't deserve him, that he could do better, was one of the only nice things left. I really don't understand how anyone could bear to look him or herself in the face and now want to bury him or herself in shame, and the idea that they could keep someone they hurt so badly in a relationship. He is a spineless coward and can't let it go, even if it is pure masochism... she should have been steadfast in keeping him away, recognizing that she doesn't deserve him. The only alternative is that she doesn't undeserve at all wat she did to him. I wouldn't be able to live with the same of what I did and keep him around, had I been in her shoes. That would have been the only decent, selfless thing she could have done for him, and she couldn't even manage do "save him from himself".

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Then again, in her place I wouldn't have considered that I had the right to talk back at all, instead I largely got a sense of entitlement for most of the time -not lately-, particularly in the beginning. It was almost assumed that *he* had to be the one trying to understand her point of view, and while *we* got to see his, I didn't get the idea she was too worried about trying to understand his feelings and the extent she had damaged him -not that he offered up a clear explanation, and not that she had a right to one-

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To make a long story short, I found her behavior largely galling and appalling, in that in her place I wouldn't have dared to show him my face after being caught basically red handed, while she was more than happy to snap back and act the victim (while she was the perpetrator in the affair... and yes, he didn't show her enough appreciation -while it might have been a sympathy card before the betrayal, what about after? In her shoes, I would have been ashamed to even think the word "appreciation", given the ultimate betrayal... it's like, okay, you gave him flowers, and you stole his house... not really an equal exchange! Buying him gifts? While sleeping with someone else and lying to his face? This is crazy arrogance and self centeredness, and duplicity... I would have been unable to look him in the face-). Lately there had been a change in tune, which made me hope that she would understand that he could do better, and should do better, and would obviously be happier with someone better than her, who could treat him better than she did (i.e. anyone who didn't lie to him for half a year and had shown herself to be unworthy of his trust). With his inability to let go and rebuild his life, her pushing him in the arms of the much more deserving neighbor so that they could heal each other would have been in line with the last "selfless" moments... in the end, she was apparently just tried of his bitching (translate: to deal with the fallout of her actions).

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The places where she was too ashamed to face him were the only places where I could empathise with her. I was "okay, if I was the kind of person who treated someone like this, I too wouldn't be able to face up to him". Breaking someone to the point he can't bear to embrace me? I would have died of shame at the idea of even contemplating tying him down to me. Which makes the fact that she would dare to even thing to be worth him taking her back, without the slightest thought that basically everyone else would be better for him (meaning they didn't show themselves to be utterly unworthy of his love and trust, and more than ready to betray him... the same way almost everyone would be a better housemate than someone who beat you up and sent you to the hospital). I could understand how she could think of not being worthy of his love. I can't understand how she now apparently thinks she is (because of the short timespan, but not *only* because of that -time and words can't erase what she has done, and the previous' chapter clean break was the only way she could get out of this without appearing utterly shameless and morally bankrupt, in my eyes, in the sense that she would have remained undeserving scum that would be ready to betray those that loved her when the stress got high an life was tough, but at least she would be aware of being that type of person, and that she couldn't continue to weight down on someone to stupid to get the story straight-).

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To be perfectly clear: I fully understand what he did wrong and the way she was taken for granted and she busted her ass for her family. I also think that billions of people do the same thing without betraying and humiliating those they love, and those who don't are assholes who have shown with their actions to be undeserving of the trust (and love) they received. It just comes down to the fact that I think of people that would do that as scum that doesn't deserve to be forgiven. They have been given a precious gift and squandered it, and that's unforgivable and unfixable. More, it's not worth to fix it, when the truth is that most people *wouldn't* have squandered said gift -even in breaking up, people could show honesty and basic respect-. I *just* can't empathize with her because I am not the kind of person that would even contemplate behaving that way, and so wouldn't tolerate it being done to me.

The reason she did what she did was that she chose to. She didn't have to. She chose to, intentionally, hurt, humiliate and deceive someone she loved for half a year. The reasons above are not reasons (certainly not good reasons), though they are circumstances. Circumstances that would have justified her separating from her husband, even asking for a divorce. Not lying to his face while pretending to be someone she was not for six months and counting. Not humiliating and shaming him for half a year. I would say that someone cheating on you, something of that nature (like in the case of the serial cheater, though once would be enough) would make her actions understandable. Being ignored? No. No way. No moral equivalence.

I also didn't appreciate the gall with which she interacted with him in the initial steps. As if he owed her calm, equanimity and a willingness to listen to her explanation. Incredible she could talk back and almost complain that because he always came back to the little fact that she utterly betrayed him and lied to his face for the *past half a year*, you know, the little things you fix by saying "I'm sorry" once. Yes, he was a bit of a broken record. Catching her red handed was also not something that anyone would let her live down after a good night's rest -I didn't like the assumption of moral equivalency, and even less the way he blamed mostly himself in the later chapters, as if he was the puppet master controlling her... he didn't help the circumstances, but *she* was the moral agent that made the decision to not honor his trust in her-.

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I the post below, I use the term "scum" which I realize is strong. But I truly feel genuine disgust for her character. Even with all the circumstances thrown in. I can't help it. I realize that there is an assumption that with the long, trite tirade of how hard she worked (due partly to her choices, and lack of communication that cut both ways) there is an "explanation". Only, to me it's not an explanation. I would call it a rationalization, excuses or bs... to be clear, I truly believe that those circumstances have all been true. I also believe that they don't excuse what she did in the least, and also don't "explain it", really -by that I don't mean that she has other motives, but that it was a situation that presented to her, and when push came to shove she failed to live up to the challenge-.

There are the set of circumstances, and then there is the way you deal with it. Some people if threatened would rat out their own mother. That says something about them, the threat is not the *cause* of their behavior, in a deep sense. If you get drunk with friends and then drive or get into a fight, that's not the alcohol or friends' fault. That's on you. Had she started taking out her anger and frustrations on her son because she was stressed from work, that's on her. She didn't, but had she done so it would have said something about her as a mother. She couldn't very well use work as an excuse. Betraying her husban's trust say something about her as a wife. About the type of person she is.

I would have pitied her and empathized with her had she divorced her husbard. Betraying his trust without the most basic human respect puts her in a different camp altogether in my eyes. You have the responsibility of dealing with the challenges life throws at you. This goes for the MC not paying attention to the wife because of work, too. Of course, unknowingly not paying enough attention to someone and intentionally betraying the trust they put in you are two circumstances -the first being a character trait to work on, the latter a catastrophic moral failing-. I truly believe that certain (most) people in that circumstance wouldn't do what she did, and that this is a key moral difference.

The least you could ask for someone you place your trust in is that they be honest and tell things to your face. I wouldn't have had the slightest problem with her breaking up with his for these exact reasons. But the month long deception on top of the willingness to humiliate and shame someone who loved you just in order to cope with your own psychological pressures are a moral event horizon in my eyes, and there are either people who would do that, when push come to shove, and people who wouldn't. I couldn't imagine being someone who would, and so would expect the same in return from my partners, and would consider it a fatal flaw and incompatibility it that was not the case, the breach of a hard set boundary.

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below -> above

What I meant to say is that, regarding her circumstances, is that, sure, there are plenty of people that would have made the same choices. I am not disputing the realism of the situation. Then again, there are people that if threatened would rat out their own mother. The threat, the immediate circumstance, is not the *reason* they are a coward. Take the case of the people that failed to achieve a dream and try to live vicariously through their children. It's not the fact that they tried and failed to accomplish a goal that makes them unfit parents, it's the way they deal with the set of circumstances in question. The way they deal with the challenge sends a signal about the type of person they are. To be entirely explicit, I would not respect a person that, in her circumstances as described here, would betray her or his partner's trust. I would have respected and understood her decision had she chosen to leave her husband for the same reasons, but I don't see the betrayal and lying for months on as something that would warrant the same empathy and forgiveness. She didn't show the person that trusted and loved her most the slightest sliver of respect, and so in my view she doesn't deserve it either -what goes around comes around, call it karma if you will-. That lack of basic respect, I can't respect. I don't think it's something you can come back to (basically, the opinion of the last episode -some things can't be fixed and shouldn't be fixed... might I add, are not worth it to be fixed, when there are so many unbroken options around in life-).

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One last thing no marriage. I am in complete disagreement with the sentiment of sacrificing yourself, your own happyness, for the equivalent of reanimating a corpse. I am completely against concepts like "we need to keep the family together for the kids", etc. A relationship is not a panacea to fix your miserable life, and I strongly disagree with the MC's mother's sentiment and the MC's desire to brainwash himself and make himself forget a set of true fact -namely, that his wife has betrayed his trust before-.

The last thing a kid need is to have a father figure a self flagellating doormat that wants to brainwash himself into returning to a state of ignorance of the past (forgetting his partner is an unfaithful wife and he is a cuckhold, which are both true statements about the world) and/or delusion (as I believe the "new people" bs in this episode to be -he didn't really give dating other people a fair shot, he had a maybe-date with one person, no serious relationship in the middle -again, almost anyone would be better than his ex wife, basically anyone for whom he wouldn't answer "yes" to the question "I wonder if this person would ever betray my trust?"-). The kid shouldn't enter in the equation, besides the point that they have to cooperate to raise him. It's a disservice to him or her if he is made into this glue guiding his parents' behavior. That's not his role, it's not his responsibility, and it's perfectly healthy to build new relationships and love the kid, focusing on being a happy person and not settling for less, and giving a good example of having standards and self respect. The kid shouldn't be in the equation when considering what is best for their relationship, besides the mutual understanding that they will take care of him. He is not to be made into a reason to bind them together like a handcuff or chain. That's not his role, and in his place I would resent them if they tried to sell me some bs about the "good of the family" or the "good of the kids". A marriage or relationship is a culmination of two healthy people enjoying a relationship as equals, it's not to be a master you have to be a slave to.

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That's not the type of pressure you put on a kid, and, by the same token, you don't let the kid become part of an emotional manipulation that implies that you should "stay together". These are things that should be decided independently from the kid, without putting pressure on him and make him feel responsible for his parent's lives, happyness and relationships. First of all, you are your own person, and plenty of divorced couple that love their kids do a much better job of raising them than people that force themselves, or lie to themselves and delude themselves (as I think it's the case here despite the feel-good bs they try to slip past me to convince me of the contrary in this episode) and basically settle (he didn't really explore his options, tried to date someone better, basically anyone that hadn't betrayed his trust) and in a word drink the cool-aid.

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Did he ignore her? Sure. Did he deserve to be betrayed and deceived for months because of it? Obviously not.

Conversely, without bothering about "deserve", did he treat her perfectly? No. Was completely breaking her husbands' trust and deceiving him for months on end a reasonable, understandable, defensible, proportionate reaction? No, that's like someone reacting to a rude joke by shooting the person in the face. You can't claim that the joke was a "reason", there was no proportionality or equivalence, morally and in terms of severity, in the reaction. In general, it's not within the bounds of how one should reasonably expect to be treated, the same way one wouldn't expect to be shot in the face for a joke -breakups are another thing entirely, people fall out of love, but that's different for not showing the bare minimum of care and respect to the other person, you can't humiliate someone who didn't try to intentionally hurt you just because you are unable to cope with your own issues-.

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One character I didn't really like above everyone else is the MC's mother. Plenty not to like. The victim of deception and betrayal gets accused of being the unfaithful spouse without reason, and even slapped around. Compare that with the abnormally neutral/positive attitude towards the wife -let's not forget that this is the woman that broke her son's heart, humiliated and deceived him for half a year... I find her attitude towards her completely unbelieavable-. Also hard to swallow is the fact that she pushes his to keep her around. Now, if that was anyone's child, would any mother worth her name do that? Does she not thing that he deserves someone better? Namely, someone that wouldn't beak his trust? Is *that* how much he is worth in her eyes? The fact that she experienced the same thing makes the whole attitude unbelievable in her lack of empathy for him (expecially realtive to her, which by contrast seems to get much more understanding).

He might have been unattentive. Okay. He wasn't perfect. That's the circumstance. Does it mean that he deserved to be betrayed and humiliated, deceived for six month until he caugh his wife red handed? No, it doesnt. So at some point someone should have called bs on this and stopped it from being brought up in the same breath -those being equated or put near each other is a shameful case of comparing apples and oranges-. Plus, she doesn't show the least bit of interest in what her son actually want. She pushes her ideals on him, and want to force him to be together with the wife. The fact that she tolerated this mess shows she has no sense of self worth. Unfortunately, she seems to think that her son is worth nothing, too. She knows that the person he most loved and trusted showed herself to be unworthy of such trust, and intentionally betrayed him and deceived him for months on end. And in her opinion his only option is to suck it up. Because of family and kids?

If someone did this to my kid, I would know on which side to stand and whose wellbeing should be put first. She cares more about an empty istitution, but marriage is only worth what people bring to it. I simply couldn't imagine facing the person that destroyed my child's worldview acting as if they should continue as if nothing happened -I wouldn't want to see him or her around-. Her son has been hurt, but apparently she doesn't give the slightest thoughts to how his wife's betrayal has impacted him, or how much he hurts. He should suck it up and march on because that's what society implies a family should do. She sees him as a slave to an institution. I honestly wouldn't be able to act like she did if someone hurt the person I loved the most, my child. I would be doing anything I could to keep her away from him, not treat him as if marriage was his job, and his personal preference doesn't matter.

The first conversations with his wife were by comparison humane -even when she told him she decided to "stop seeing her lover...

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The first conversations with his wife were by comparison humane -even when she told him she decided to "stop seeing her lover for now" and bragged to him that she was the one calling him first, or acted with entitlement, as if she and her lover's affair was simply their issue and her lover's wife an idiot they could continue to deceive ad infinitum, and the decision of what and when to tell her were entirely up to the two of them. Would any mother treat her son so callously? Is this how she would treat someone who betrayed and deceived him? Would she want him to *stay* with such a person, think such a person to be deserving of her son's love and affection (she already demonstrated that she wasn't deserving of his trust, since she broke it)? Any random person would be objectively better (for a starter, they wouldn't have shown themselves to be willing to betray his trust).

But no, he is not asked what he wants or encouraged to recover his destroyed self esteem and shattered pride, and encourage to hope that there is someone better out there thar wouldn't respond to his love and trust by hurting him. He is so traumatized that he can't even embrace his wife without seeing the other guy. And his mother only thinks about keeping that shallow cover of a marriage together. Would they do the same thing with *their* kid? I hope not, I truly hope that they would put him first, and not tell him to sacrifice his happyness for a bs idea of what a marriage and family should be. She knows the pain, and she thinks that she is not good enough to not have to put up with it. She also think that he is not worthy on not having to put up with this bs.

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