I thought the mystery about writer Kang will vanish but not at all. Is really Eun Ho's father? Because the Dr said Eun Ho was better than his children.

Hae Rin's family was so cute in this episode! I really loved this scene! I really liked the scene when she loved Seo Joon's design ideas. She's very passionate in her job.

For Eun Ho and Dani, I still can't feel anything. I think they played the card "he's my little bro" too long. She never showed anything and now I can't feel her change of emotions for him.

I am not at all invested in the father track. Hope they have something worthwhile there. I will pass all comments until then.

I really liked their honest conversation (Eun Ho's confession) - Him being poetic about it, she feeling sad and conflicted not knowing how to react or what to say, he being concerned that she may be uncomfortable and asking her to go about her life.. And what really touched me was at the end of it, he says he is going to bed and asks her to put back his bowl. That to me said everything - we might have crossed a boundary, but nothing will change what we currently have.

I look forward to how Dan-Yi handles this. Whether she can change the way she looks at him or whether she chooses to keep things status-quo. I am fine with both. Because, no matter what Dan-Yi decides their equation wont change.

Just dropping by to profess my love for LJS 💗, he's so sweet. The scene in the restaurant where he figured out Dan-Yi's thoughts was too cute for words. Then later the kiss, and the sneak peeks from the preview promise a lot of heart fluttering moments next week. I'm prepared to see Dan-Yi trying to deny her feelings and getting lots of teasing from his side. The side characters are also entertaining and their stories full of heart. This is not a groundbreaking show but it's a very pleasant watch.

Just dropping by to say that the kiss was so cute.

I agree that this episode was a bit of a mess though. Also, Seo Joon and Hae Rin have way more chemistry than he and Dani ever did. Sail, second ship, sail!

I generally find him annoying and in the way, but Ji Seo Jun is literally me when it comes to design and art pfffffft. (Also I love the Oriental Painting Cover idea.)

The caring for his father scene fell flat for me, too. If there ever was a time or flashbacks in the way of filling in the story, this was it. But it didn't happen. I did have a favorite scene, though - it was mostly her uncharming expression - when Ha-rin said "that's my charm" to Seo-joon's comment about her fiery temper. And, of course, Eun-ho's open satisfaction about Dan-yi not offering Seo-joon a Band-aid. But, I agree that overall, the pace better pick up some way some how and fast!

I'm not so much as enamored by this otp, as I am by eunho and dani as characters. So even though this pairing doesn't necessarily incite sparks or red hot passion (not yet at least), as most great otps usually do, their decades long friendship and the obvious mutual love and respect really makes me root for them.

i also always think i can't love lee jong suk any more than i already do, and he just goes and stars in a new drama. man, it's going to be a long 2 years without him in dramaland.

Seo-joon cuts his finger while cooking

Of course. He's a kdrama person. They injure their fingers so much I don't hardly know how to attack...

1: What have they got against their fingers?
or
2: Convenience stores should sell Kevlar-armor finger gloves.
or
3: Kdrama restaurants should should just list blood as an ingredient.

I actually liked this ep better than ep9.. 🤔

-> Again, great scenes with LNY and LJS! I just love their chemistry! For me, all their scenes made sense, even the abrupt switch from serious conversations to sudden bickering (and giving another a whack - - I'm talking about you DY 😂) given their history.
---> DY worrying about EH and quickly switching to a noona-teaching-her-dongsaeng a lesson.. Hehehe
---> EH explaining his feelings, and DY finally "getting it". No comedy here.
---> "Why would I risk my life for love? "
EH is such a mature and logical male lead! 👏👏👏

-> Loved the parents 👫... So hilarious that even when they were "hating" on EH, the father was sort of pointing out EH'S good points hahaha

-> SJ and HR... They are truly better off with each other. SJ was intrigued by DY almost at first sight.. without knowing anything about her. HR looked up to EH as a mentor, she couldv'e been doubly enamored with EH because of that. But SJ and HR are actually getting to know each other... which is probably a better foundation for a relationship. I think that is what the drama is trying to show.

> I was actually pleasantly surpised that they continued to address JY's mistake with EH explaining to that yes, eventhough sometimes an editor makes a mistake, they feel ashamed after. And that she needs to think about her position if it is what she really wants. Who would've thought we'll get mentor and workplace lessons here. 😊 I want a mentor like EH! 😁

-> And finally.. Did anyone think a band-aid would trigger EH to make that move.. Finally moving out of the friendzone??? Even if they showed the "almost kiss" during previews, I was still squealing when he actually kissed her 😂😂😂 And LJS!!! Such a GREAT actor, that even in only a few minutes, we are inside his head and get why he did what he did!
So simple, so pure, so ❤️❤️❤️.

Hmmm it was interesting to see more of the writer Kang's issues (though we don't yet know what the exact issue is explicitly.

I like the Seo Joon Hae Rin pairing more and more now.
Also officially on the tertiary couple ship! The meeting while they were still sleeping on the office table was hilarious!

honestly I did expect to see more of the DanYi Seo Joon relationship before the main couple got together. But oh well.

I must say, being a lover of books, this drama is showing me a lot in terms of details on the 'making of' of a book that I hasn't thought of before!

Thanks for the recap @abirdword! A couple of thoughts:
That pink plaid coat!!! It is gorgeous and looks so warm! These folks must have huge closets just for their coats.

Dan-Yi is uncertain and I wonder now if she still thinks that Eun Ho knows her too well so how in the world could he love her? Her ego and self-worth took quite a beating with that ex for 11 years, and she is just now feeling a sense of accomplishment and worth at work.
How could her "best friend like her when he knows here inside and out, and knows how imperfect she is?" - is kind of how I'm seeing her cluelessness.
Dan-Yi is still discovering ways that she can be loved and how much she deserves to be love. Now she will learn that it's okay to love someone herself - especially someone she has loved for a long time.

But overall I'm just enjoying the show. Would love to know more of the backstory of the old man AND if her daughter will ever come home.
oh well, few dramas are as perfect like My Ahjussi.

I can't believe we are already at episode 10!

I'm really liking the second leads and their blossoming relationship, they could be cute together.

About the main couple, I'm curious about the development of their relationship, but every time an episode ends, it seems that I find out more about DY's feelings and thoughts from the phrases in that kind of "epilogue" than from acting and events.

I hope the Kang situation won't take too much space in the story, there are just many irons in the fire without it.

I can't say I'm loving the show, but I like it, and above all its representation of different kinds of relationship.

Thanks @abirdword.
The hilarity in this show is amazing. I was more amused than sad with Hae Rin's diatribe over over-cooked dumplings and how she blamed them for being rejected, and the meeting around the sleeping couple while everyone remained deadpan, had me under my table LOL.

Seo Joon is interesting. He could have just passed by Hae Rin at the restaurant, since she was not yet a 'friend' but someone to work with, but he stood outside to watch her and offer a friendly shoulder.

The mystery remains about why he has a specially locked room storing Writer Kang's work and notes on him. Is being related to Writer Kang such a secret for everyone related to him? If the reason the show gives does not warrant such cloak and dagger shenanigans, I will be somewhat annoyed.

I'm glad to see that Eun Ho's hopes are now ignited and am rooting for him all the way. I'm all game to see Dan-i discover her true feelings with shock and start to crumble in the face of Eun Ho's forward movement.

I'm hoping for more softening of Dir Ko in the next episodes. I want the more senior girls team to get together again!

I also agree that the father/mentor route is kinda out of place and this show is already great even without the father mystery. I found myself fast forwarding through those scenes.

We could use more Seo Jun - Hae Rin scene in lieu of those though. Squeee ~~~

I was doing a rewatch of this episode when the recap popped up. I was watching it with my mom when she voiced everything I was thinking about HaeRin. She really let her own feelings blindside her to all the signals EunHo was giving her regarding how he feels. She said herself that he never answered her calls or texts after work. She really believed he never saw her letters when he's an avid reader? I guess it could lost in translation but she kept saying he dumped her. Can't be dumped when you weren't together.

The silver lining in that whole fiasco was HaeRin's parents. Her mom was so cute taking her side. Those are the things you remember throughout your life.

I laughed during the book cover design meeting. HaeRin and Seojoon really do have chemistry.

I think what I like best about this drama is that I like the whole drama. There isnt a single character or plot that I don't like or think about fast forwarding through. When Im watching I'm just as investing in the Hoon/Ji-Yul relationship as I am in the otp. Im disappointed when we don't see and spend time with every character, because I genuinely enjoy them all. I like how full the drama feels. There are so many dramas that I've watched that I was there for the otp, or I loved all of it except for this one thing that I had to ff through because good night sweet potato I just could not. I dont have any of that here.

Lee Jong-suk and Lee Na-young have no sexual chemistry. I get why Eun-ho has been in love with his noona since he was 11, but I cannot picture Dan-yi falling for her dongsaeng (she even saves his number as "dongsaeng"). A relationship between them is just not believable.

I love how Eun-ho still humors Hae-rin even after rejecting her. Like his letter, his phone call was oh-so sweet. "You're right. I am a bastard, aren't I? Are you with anyone? I hope you are." In comes Seo-joon who is even sweeter. "Do you need a friend? I can take my dog home and come back."

Hae-rin acted unprofessional in their meeting. You hired Seo-joon as the book designer; let him design. Why are you dismissing his professional opinion? Thanks a bunch for recapping, @abirdword!

Oh I so love love love this show.

I don't know but this episode is my fav. I really love every bit of it. I love how Park Hoon and Ji yul slept on the table while the team held the meeting, and that they pretended to be asleep throughout the whole meeting because they were afraid of having to face Ms.Go. I love LNY since I think she is so charming that I can't held back but falling in love with her (character) if I were Eun ho or Seo Joon. She is just so adorable and charming in every possible way. I love her oversize clothes. Her style shows who she is and is consistent with her personality. I love the Gyeoroo publishing company team, the atmosphere is good there. I love love love Hae rin, she just rocks and so genuinely true to herself.

For LJS, I can't feel his chemistry with anyone (I watched IHYV and When You Were Sleeping) besides LNY here. It explains to me well that he used to tell the media that she is his ideal type, because I can just feel his love towards Dan-i. I really think that this is the first time I can feel that he can actually love someone in the dramas. I really am invested in their relationship. Just a tiny think that I think it's quite unfair for Kang Dan-i is that when Eun ho knows that Dan-i might have a change of heart, he begins to be quite cocky and shows cute, yet devilishly arrogant yet subtle facial expressions of being chosen and a winner in this love relationship. I can't help but feel pity for Seo joon. hehehe

I wonder if the way author kang was introduced mirrors his real life relationship with EH. The doctor said that EH is better than his children so I assume even the doc is not aware that EH is kang's son. In my opinion EH is the product of kang's extra marital affair and that he never really had a relationship with him. He was chosen only because he is an author himself and because of his love for books. His mission was saving the books author kang wrote and keep them free of being linked to his sickness. And in order to do so he agreed to keep the secret. So maybe his relationship with author kang does not involve anything else but their shared love for books.
And since the author has one secret son, he could have 2...SJ is probably his half brother. That would explain why he is so obsessed in finding author kang.

I found the opening scene of the episode very symbolic. The fate of this relationship is that Seo Joon is invisible to Dan Yi. Whether she realizes or not her mind was always preoccupied with Eun Ho even before he made is confession and that’s why he keeps talking about Eun Ho to Seo Joon.

I love love love Hae Rin’s family. They are absolutely hilarious.

I think this show’s biggest weakness is the way they are handling author Kang’s story. I wrote at the time of the big reveal that “he is my father” wasn’t at all impactful. Now, in the same blasé manner we learn that he is not Eun Ho’s father after all (I am confused, is he his father or is he not? The subs I read implied he was his teacher).

Hoon and Ji Yul sleeping on the table during the meeting had me in stitches. Nice to see Ji Yul finally showing some interest in her job.

I didn’t like the show’s ambiguity about the bandaid. Did Dan Yi genuinely forget because she was thinking about Eun Ho or did she not want to give it to Seo Joon in front of Eun Ho?

As much as I love Hae Rin and Seo Joon together Eun Ho and Dan Yi are only marginally better than Dan Yi and Seo Joon. The best part of a noona romance for me is the noona’s futile attempts to resist the feelings she is having. But Dan Yi is so out of touch with her feelings that she doesn’t have a clue what she is feeling for whom and that really is running the romance for me. Eun Ho is singlehandedly carrying the emotional weight of that relationship.

Hmm. I wasn’t a huge fan of this episode or the last because I think the focus on romance has hit some false notes for me. I like Seo-jin and Hae-rin together, but I have mixed feelings about the way Hae-rin’s irrational moments are played for laughs. I may be in the minority, but the way she sobbed in front of her parents felt fake and exaggerated for comic relief. I enjoyed her book meeting with Seo-jin, but her initial reaction to his idea was also over-the-top. Her sudden change of heart was funny, but I worry they’re turning her into an unstable joke for laughs, and I have mixed feelings about that. Part of me is amused because she has chemistry with Seo-jin. Part of me is a bit put-off because I would rather see them bond as compatible professionals. Do we even need mature female characters if we’re still going to reenact the old trope in which the sophisticated male is inexplicably charmed by the zany female’s childishness?

Similarly, Eun-ho is somehow portrayed as having a more mature understanding of love, despite Dan-yi’s role as the older divorcee with a child. She has been in a long-term relationship, but she must learn how to love from Eun-ho, who’s main romance is an enduring childhood crush. Eun-ho’s devotion and maturity are also inconsistent. Despite his drunken trips to her house, a year went by before he realized she was divorced. I question the wisdom of suddenly confessing romantic feelings for a friend who is still reeling from a bad divorce and relying on him for housing, as well. Both leading men seem childish when their jealousy is on full display, but I tend to think that may be because the creators do not know how to depict romantic relationships in a more mature way. I’m not sure.

Anyway, if we’re going to spend so much time on romance, I’d love to understand why Dan-yi is the way she is beyond her marital problems. We know that she had reservations about marrying her husband, so why did she feel she had no other options? Why was she a bully as a child, and what was her relationship with her family members? How will her daughter react to Eun-ho, and will she eventually play a role in this drama?

Anyone else notice the orange cat running into Eunho's yard at the beginning when SJ and Dani were outside his house?
I thought it would vital to the plot but I think it was just a random cat hahaha.

I really love this show. I like the way the hero looks at the heroine. Am not sure how long it'll take our heroine to fully fall in love with him. Right now she so wants to prove herself in life and she's been only a mother and a rejected wife for a while. So it's hard for her to see herself as sexy, esp to a kid who she always thought of as a....kid. They may or may not have chemistry now but to me, this is a bit like the relationship between the OTP in EVER NIGHT. Romance is just a supplement in two ways. First, it's a supplement to a valid life. Secondly it's a supplement to a good relationship. If you can get along, care for each other, understand each other and have sex once in a while...it's the most important thing.

I loved this episode! Finally, the straightforward confession. It was done in a calm, unassuming manner. And the kiss!

I think episode 9/10 had a lot to live up to, after an amazing episode 8. It isn’t a problem though, because I felt that the show is still amazing and doesn’t take away any of the charm it has rightfully deserve despite not being as wonderful as episode 8.

What I love the most about RIABB is that it is a healing Rom Com. I’m actually glad that LJS and LNY decided to do this instead of a fluffy romcom. This is so much more thoughtful, so poetic, so calming and fits both their images.

Another point about RIABB is that it has standout moments in almost every episode (for me at least)!

Eg. (Not listing them all because it’s just too long)

Ep 4: when they were staring at the moon
Ep 8: The subtle snow confession scene
Ep 9: HR’s rejection letter and Dani’s book analogy of Eun Ho
Ep 10: The confession and the restaurant dinner scene

I’ve watched a few other works from the same writer and she definitely is consistent with a realistic and non-fan service (Because i think a lot of romcom kdramas do that) approach to love. However this time it feels different. The previous ones INR, Discovery of Love had quite a lot of brashness and indecisiveness and arguments happening between the characters, which was quite tiring to watch honestly. This one instead is filled with characters who are considerate, genuinely kind and passionate. I never realized how healing it can be to watch a show with no malice haha. Flaws yes, they are human afterall but no malice!

Can’t wait to watch the final 6 episodes. I have a feeling it may be slightly rushed as they have so many loose ends to tie, but it has already cemented its place as one of my fav romcoms of all time.

The scenes where Eunho was with his father were largely a waste. That time could have been better spent on the rest of the story.

I thought these two episodes were actually effective in showing us the profound shifts in the relationships. Not just Dan-yi and Eunho but even more Hae-rin and Seo-yoon. We see them truly starting to get under each other's skin.

I really dislike the Author Kang arc.

"The man seemed more prop than someone in Eun-ho’s life."

Can't agree with this more.
As I mentioned before in previous episode recap, it just made EH look shallow, that he is living such a cheerful life when the father/mentor is sick somewhere. It made all the three days attentive caring looks fake. If the drama has inserted some scenes of Author Kang with EH somewhere along the way, this arc won't seem so jarring.

I'm slowly catching up, I'm determined to finish this.
Let's get it otp & second otp!