I really love this idea being teased out in this show that if you want to hurt somebody who's hurt you - if you want "revenge", if you want to act against them to make them feel how you feel - then the only person you'll end up hurting is yourself.

The image of a young Woo-joo throwing herself against her father's car is the ultimate metaphor for how trying to inflict pain on others only ends up hurting you. And CEO Shin has now thrown himself on that car window, essentially validating Dong-jin's warning to Woo-jin that lashing out in anger at somebody is ultimately self-defeating.

At the same time... he is so literally boxed in (quite literally going by the cinematography) and so empathetically respectful of others that he regularly just stands there in a situation letting it happen. I can see how his fiance would have cheated on him to hurt him so she could help him see how his inaction hurt her. But it achieved nothing but destruction.

In fact, apart from his awful awful mother, I really like every character in this. Yes, even big sis who made me want to stab something in the first few episodes.

I can't say I was a huge fan of that final scene though, it was just so tropey. I felt like I was watching a bad weekender.

The dart! I’m surprised and pleased that this scene is as subtle as the drama itself.

Apart from two minor things that are rather tropy (brother hearing Min Young’s backstory and CEO Shin mistaking DJ-MY gangup), these two episodes keep on winning my heart. This is one drama I wish for a Netflix-drop-all. It’s heartbreaking to hear DJ’s confession of not wanting to be hurt again. I need to see this guy smile and happy.

I do think the J&R-esque situation is real because Woo-joo’s mom is still alive. It’s not an easy-to-ignore situation in any cultural setting not to mention it’s Korea here. It will be a hurdle.

And yes, except DJ’s mom, everyone is likeable. The sister seemed to be an airhead initially but what a 4-D person she is. I wish her happiness no matter whom she ends up with. The younger brother is so adorable and his bromance with DJ is a pleasure to watch.

My weekend is now reserved for a rewatch. I’m never a fan of KWK, LSK or SJ - but this drama is the one to change my view.

The only thing I have complaints about is his hair style! I need some forehead!!!!

You worded my thoughts right about Min-young. I liked what they did with her character this week. They humanized her without excusing the hurt she caused him. Of all the ways she could have, it was to initiate a break-up with him during camping, the one thing he does to gives him happiness.

Did I interpret it differently? I thought he said he's taking his time so she can think about it since she has now met an aspect of his life he doesn't want to be associated with so she should decide if she still wants to move on with him. His mom is his dirty linen, and she has seen it. And marriage would mean she might have to at some point interact with his dirty linen. So I found his statement as : 'You've seen my ugly part. Do you still want to go ahead. I'll give you time to think about it'.

It seems like Mr. Dae-hang is his dad or is a foster dad sort of who became a best part of his life.

For the first time, a character made me see Hye-sung in a different perspective. All the things I called weak points became strengths and it is comforting.

I was screaming at Sun-woo to shut up as he was explaining Woo-joo telling Dong-jin not to like her in that manner. 'You're getting it all wrong man. That's not how it is. It's the obvious opposite'. Was it because Sun-woo is a guy? I'm sure Min-young would have gotten the message underneath. And talking about Sun-woo and Min-young, I'm up for this pairing if it is in the works. Not because Sun-woo is a consolation prize but because while I now do not like her with Dong-jin, I've always liked her scenes with Sun-woo. And the guy doesn't have feelings for her prior to her breaking up with Dong-jin but if it develops thanks to their current interactions, I'm up for it.

The scene with the darts. I liked the realization that dawned on Min-young as Woo-joo hit bullseye without stop. ' I can't compete against Woo-joo. I've lost this one already'. She's smart. I also hope she knows how to bow out with her honor intact.

WJ: So what is this? What is this feeling?
Me: Call it love, honey, call it love.

(I know, too easy.)

I love our leads. I want them to be happy. I want them to break free from this mother. From the hatred. I love found families and can’t wait for Dong min to join the siblings and Joon family.

Woo Joo is too kind for enacting revenge. I loved how she was shown to be so miserable when she found out she misjudged a person and intended to harm a good person. What’s worse she fell for this person. And she wanted to ruin this person she now loves. I think that’s her conflict. It’s not the mother. For someone who speaks what comes to her mind and comes clean with facts (like saying things to Min Young or talking about her meeting with Min Young to Dong Jin) she is unable to face him and tell him who she really is. She is trying to correct her wrongs and disappear from his life. Fixing his buttons is also a form of redemption for her. And she thinks that will be fair. But alas, the man caught feelings.

Dong Jin. Oh dear. Those little rare
Smiles makes me want more of it.

I really loved Sung Joon in these two episodes. I like his character. I can’t tell if his story is kept mysterious or that’s all there is to him. So far I don’t think he has any feelings mixed up. He has taken the role of the devils advocate in this family and it’s not a bad thing. But he needs to be a little kind because he is only pushing her away when she needs a friend.

The wait for next episodes is hard.

That scene in the conference room had so much tension. I like how call it love presents its story, these moments with tension feel intimate and have weight and are still being told tastefully. The showing and telling are well balanced that is the show isn't screaming at me or has the character saying things through every moment and what is being shown and what is being told are on the same page. Very strong debut for the writers and director is doing an excellent job at using the medium, the pink filter is certainly a choice while I don't notice it anymore I would still say aside from this choice the director has been nailing it.

Another week's worth of episodes that I dragged out watching over the course of three days because I didn't want them to end.

One thing, though: was I the only one that got the impression that Dong-ji has figured out Woo-joo is the daughter he was looking for? Right in the beginning of ep. 7, he remembers that very telling almost-confession in the grocery store where Woo-joo talked about her family being kicked out of her house and seemed to connect that to his current attempts to locate the children who his mother evicted. Later, when she told him all about her cheating father, I thought that must have sealed it for him. I mean, it has always been a little unbelievable that Dong-ji--who surely knew the full name of his former stepfather--didn't put two and two together earlier or, at least, do a quick five minute google search on who previously owned the house. But with these latest revelations and that extended flashback (plus Woo-joo disappearing from work at the same time as the daughter was throwing eggs at the house) I thought the show was trying to indicate that the big secret and deception we thought was so important--i.e. the impetus for the whole plot and potential future conflict between are two lovers--is a non-issue at this point. Dong-ji knows exactly who she is but it doesn't change how he feels.
Moreover, the conflict now is not him figuring out the ugly truth, but the two of them deciding how to have a relationship that is not marred in any way by that ugly truth.

To that end, as LT mentioned above, I'm not sure I agree that Woo-joo (or Jun, for that matter) think it would be morally wrong of her to like Dong-ji. I got the vibe instead that both know her hatred of the evil mother is so intense and all-consuming that a real relationship between Woo-joo and Dong-ji isn't really possible. In other words, the characters seem to believe the same idea that Dong-ji feared (and was) the case with Min-young: Hee-ja is truly so awful and her presence so toxic that any relationship Dong-ji has will ultimately be destroyed by her existence. And in the case of Woo-joo, with her past and her personality, that problem is only magnified times 10,000.

Speaking of Hae-ja, she is the only character in this drama who isn't at least remotely sympathetic or interesting, but the more I thought about that fact this week, the more it made sense to me. We got a hint that there exists a copy of Woo-joo's father's Will that may reveal things aren't what they seem. I took that to mean that perhaps the father didn't actually leave the house to Hee-ja after all and this whole thing may be her elaborate con. If that's the case, then she has to be this simple and straightforward of a character because only an extreme and amoral narcissist would be capable of doing something so cold and selfish.

A few other random thoughts:

--I loved that moment when we see it's Woo-joo's brother behind the door while Min-young rails against...

I love this show and can't wait for each episode to air. I was kind of hoping that Dong-jin would find out that she was the daughter so that that secret was no longer hanging over Woo-joo (and the other guilt that it seems that she pushed the antagonists to go all out) so that she and Dong-jin could start to build back up from the repercussions. And I'm hoping that he has a hint because of that scene you refer to at the grocery store where I thought he put two and two together. I worry because of the line of Min-young earlier that she hopes he finds someone who betrays him even more. I do like the backstory reveal for Min-young and thought that made a lot of sense. I am still not that sympathetic and wish she would move away because what was she doing for all the years that she was away? Was she fine then but then she comes back and drinks every night because she wants him back and he doesn't want her back - but yet she was unable to contact him while in America and say I didn't get married. (I do hate when dramas pretend that going to the US is like going to the moon and there's no ability to have any contact.) But the Min-young disclosure about his mom made me feel that Woo-joo even more so becomes the right partner for him because she can just ignore his mom and not be manipulated by her (hopefully). Also, I felt it was kind of a betrayal by Min-young right there to go meet the mom when Dong-jin hasn't initiated it. I love how all the side characters are developing (other than the mom). I love this drama!

How much did I love the subtle smiles in Dong Jin's face when he is talking or thinking about Woo Joo? Too subtle you barely can notice, but SunWoo did.

I keep comparing this drama to The Interest of Love, probably because it's slow path and because it filled the emptiness that drama left on me, but unlike TIoL, in which almost every character was unlikeable, I like every character here (of course unless awful mum).

I think I really liked the flashback with Min Young and Dong Jin. It really showed how toxic parents can really affect their children's future relationships. I come from India which has a similar culture in terms of family relationships and I have heard so many women say had they known what their mother-in-laws would be like, they would have simply would not have married their husbands. Women cannot go without interacting with their MILs. Dong Jin realised this but poor guy didn't really say more to comfort the girl. I think he really cared about Min Young in the sense that he did not want to pressure her to choose him and subject herself to interactions with his mother and really wanted to give her the out he wish he had.

I'm probably overanalyzing, or maybe it just happened on my viewing platform, but did anyone else notice that this week's episodes used a cold open and did not include the show intro? I wonder if it was because the intro hints at an outcome for the romance and the writer/director prefer to maintain more mystery about the end game at this point. (Or maybe they were up against a time limit ... lol)

I was pleasantly surprised by the writing in the scene with Hye-sung's boyfriend. Did not expect him to have such insight into her character. Now if she could just realize she deserves to be loved for reasons others than making her boyfriend feel good and agreeing with his every opinion. I don't know if she'll ever be more than a fake girlfriend to Joon -- and maybe not even that if he doesn't watch his words -- but it's refreshing to see he's one man she's comfortable disagreeing and being disagreeable with.

As for the button and its aftermath, it's like a variation of the hand-holding scene in front of Min-young from earlier. Dong-jin doesn't want to misinterpret Woo-joo's gestures. In both cases, it becomes clear her actions stemmed from care and concern for him and they're not something she wants to "take back." But now the poor guy has been ordered not to reciprocate her feelings. That's going to be a struggle for him. (But I'll probably enjoy watching it!)

I like the characters in this show, although I really wish Dong-jin was a little less passive. At a certain point, the character becomes impossible for me to root for, if he is paralyzed by a back-hug!
The real star though for me, remains the cinematography. I've gotten used to the pink, and although it wouldn't have been my artistic choice, I respect it. Meanwhile, I think that wall sconce between the two apartments deserves a best supporting actor nomination, since the two triangles of light it throws off on either side are in great geometric juxtaposition to the walls and doors in the long shots of people standing in the hallway. I enjoy every episode just for these shots alone!

As always, I'm a day late, but. . . .

"The show planted a flashback to the grocery story scene — where Woo-joo tells Dong-jin she was kicked out of her house — in the same sequence as him talking to his mother about the house. Was he putting two and two together at that moment?"

Hell yeah!! I have believed from Ep. 3 (or maybe 4) that Dong-jin knew from almost the very beginning that WooJoo was a "daughter". I also believe they were loosely connected as children - the intro shows children running, balloons, etc. He must have known the surname (Sim/Shim) of step-dad #3. We know that WooJoo KNEW the identity of DJ's Mom ("why HER??").

I enjoy the slow-unpeeling-of-the-onion, so to speak. But, it's a bit too nuanced. A bit too "sly". I love slow-burn romance and provided there is no unnecessary "break-up" at Ep. 14 or whatever, this will be one of my all-time favorites.

Hi Fam, I’m late to the convo after a busy week.
Can someone help me understand the significance of Joon calling Hye-sung ‘Sim Mok-sung’?
D-J’s subtle body acting continues to be fab - eg originally he walked with a ‘despair-gait’ (without hope, and without having experienced the wonder of WooJoo) now he walks with a ‘resignation-gait’ (life is no longer a cavern of bleakness, but I can not allow myself to bask in WooJoo wonderfulness). Well done KYK and director-nim!

I'm so loving this show; more so this beanie community and the conversation thread here. Keep at it. Indeed, we are shown several ways of loving here - the two sisters, how one holds back and the other just rushing into it. Two males storyline, one ever the reliable back-up (Sunghoon) and the lead's walled in emotions. I am seeing that wall being broken at some point and the two leads working together to get back the house. Before that, I reckon that the male lead's realisation that Woo-jin can very well stand up to his mom to be the light that breaks through the wall. I want them both working together to get the house back, rather than apart and failing at it. Love the different bonds of love at work here.

I'm loving this so far, I honestly haven't had the attention span for most of the newer drama without fast forwarding. Hopefully it won't be a disappointing ending.

It kinda gives me of the same feeling as My Libration Notes but more pink/stylized and with less eating. Also infinitely better character interaction - they actually talk to each other instead of monologuing. Each sibling has a personality and their relationship is nuanced. Even the elder sister who is "man crazy" trope also is fleshed out more and has her own arc.

Joon is great and I'm glad it's not the love triangle. He brings this perfect laid back vibe that contrasts well with the family. Even the Min-young is good, kinda wish she just starts becoming friends with Woo-joo haha.

My only complaint is all the flashbacks that is not from their childhood. It's like we get it, you literally just showed that scene, we don't need a reminder to know what the character is thinking.