🥳 💃
Thank you!!

Thank you for this.

I will start using this next week starting with episode 16.

Wow, we are having additional space. Thanks, @dorotka and @db-staff!

Now, could anyone shred light on what’s the relationship between YD’s uncle and TK’s sister in law?

I just wanna say that this is the most stupid and frustrating drama I tried to watch in a long while. It also really tells me that weekend dramas are reeeally not for me, although I did enjoy some other weekend dramas before but this drama just doesn't make sense.
Anyway, sorry I'm just relieving some pent up frustration here.

I like the leads but not the characters. It is infuriating how the SFL is able to go anywhere she wants and spy on anything. When the next episodes drop, I will need to decide if i want to continue watching this.

The Story of Art by Gombrich~

This show is something i dont want to watch cause weekender but then i hunt for new epispde every sunday reason cause i like chemistry between the male leads and then i love YDs lil family... like how everyone loves each other so much... her maternal uncle, her brother, her mother and niece... i just adore their family bonding and may be thats the second best reason i am loving this show.
Though it certainly can improve with its makjangness by sending that se jin ah to US branch.
oh yes now am so excited to see Halmouni in old School and how she will handle those ladies and make a tribe out of them... so looking forward

You were right @oldawyer !
I really thought they would wriggle out of the situation by saying that TK is not behaving like a real father (or something like that), but here we go, the first person knows (a bit of) the truth.

Among all that weekender silliness we got again some social commentary about fathers having difficulties to accept not-blood-related children...

Episode 17 thoughts & spoilers

This was a lovely episode, and what I found rather sweet is Yeon Doo’s Uncle, Dae Sang’s devotion and commitment to his family. I loved how he responded to finding out that TG isn’t Real’s bio dad - he admired and loved him all the more. And when he worried that TG would leave YD and Real, he offered to raise Real as his own child if that would help their relationship. He’s not the most practically-minded character, but he’s always offering to help in whatever way he can. His role here really reminds me of his character in Be My Dream Family.

The other turn of events I’m relishing is every time we see Yeon Doo’s mum, Bong Nim, turn grumpy cat halmeoni into a compliant kitten.🤣 Will this grow old over time? Maybe, but I am enjoying it so much right now!! And it will be wonderful to see halmeoni grow as a person. Learning to read and not living in fear of her secret coming out will hopefully mean that she won’t feel the need to control the people around her as much.

I found Principal Jang Ho’s ultimatum quite intriguing - he seems to think that what Se Jin wants/wanted was for him to give up the unprofitable school, and earn more money. He doesn’t seem to grasp the extent of what SJ is trying to claw back for herself, and how much she blames him for her circumstances. I’m keen to find out exactly what happened with their family’s finances back when she was in high school.

The plot thickens with TG’s older sister, Ji Myeong and her colleague/hoobae Sang Hoon. What exactly happened between them? I found the scene in his car the best acting from both of them so far - up until now it’s been played for laughs a bit, but things just got interesting.

I really enjoyed seeing TG as a teenager. It seems he was taciturn but also very aware of other’s feelings and considerate from that age. It’s awful to think how long he’s been bullied and treated poorly by his siblings. It made the fact that Uncle Dae Sang and YD both see the best in him that much more gratifying. It’s like he’s finally getting the attention and acknowledgment that he hasn’t received for most of his life.😢

At the end of episode 17 we see our couple finally sleeping in the same bed, with SD snuggled right into TK, whose heart is pounding. She has just told him that he should find some someone nice who will love him, and our obvious response is: How about you? Which is subconsciously what TK is feeling.

The writer has surprised us many times but to me the biggest was the reaction of SD's uncle who was not shocked or outraged at TK but rather decided that TK was a fantastic guy. I really did not see that one coming.

Do we get another love line with Uncle and the new part-timer, his former GF? Is her child his? Uncle is the cook at the new family steamed chicken place- he obviously has some actual skills which makes the new family business make sense. He is also a great family man who has been a big help in raising his grandniece. His nephew is able to devote some time to study and to job seeking in part because of this- but nephew is not lazy either and is helping with that business as well. Part of the reason I can visualize the future success of our very entrepreneurial Oh Soo-gyeom is because she has been raised with such good examples of good people working hard- but who have also loved her a great deal, giving her both the right attitudes and the abundant skills and confidence need to create a business empire. Other children of her age may begin with significant economic advantages but in the end how can they compete against someone who has never depended upon such crutches?

I think I will need some time to adjust to the new actor playing Chairman, it's so jarring... and so strange when everyone was welcoming him after that business trip and he looked soooo different 😅
Not even a suggestion of some plastic surgery or so 😆😆

Getting the assholish Real Real's Father back into the picture was smoother. 😁

Episode 18 could be described as the Epic Misunderstanding Episode. Or maybe not? The actor substitution for our Chairman was truly jarring- whatever personal reasons our original Chairman may have had obvously blew up suddenly because the result was about as dramatically awkward as one can get.

In any case the side story of Yoo-myung and Soo-gyeom (and her dad) is just about to get started.

Our 2ML is just about to return. Just in time to be briefed by Se-jin who may have figured things out thanks to snooping in SD’s phone.

We ended with TK asking SD why she is in such a hurry to leave.

Is it common in weekenders to replace actors as the stepfather is now played by a new person!

Doing a little recapping for the fun of it ~
https://cimiart.wordpress.com/2023/05/21/the-real-has-come-ep-17/

So it’s not just me, finally catching up on episode 17 and noticed immediately they switched out the CEO dad. The other guy was so much more affable.

What did happen to Abboji? Got plastic surgery in US ? 😅

The reason I watch this (and ani other kdrama) is for the heart-tingly moments. One example is when TY was in his office changing YD’s name to “wife;” when the characters of the words appeared, my heart literally palpitated. And then evil lady who I don’t even know what to call barges in and he deleted it! But yeah, those moments, even more than sharing a bed
for the first time and her rolling towards him, is what makes me keep watching. So adorable.

Im always waiting for the next coming episode. waiting is longer than watching hahaha I hope they don't only post 2 episodes every Saturday and Sunday hahaha it's addictive

First time getting to post about this show-- but can't be happier about it. Have desperately needed to talk about this fun yet frustrating experience lol.

For one, TK is just fantastic, and while I had issues with a lot of the TD's decisions, I'm glad in more recent episodes she hasn't been as childish in a lot of ways.

But here's the thing... Se-Jin...

I know she's the villain, but she does it too well. It drives me insane when an opportunistic liar like her, gets away with murder, and she uses that pitiable act to get what she wants. I had to skip through almost an entire episode once because it was too much for me at one point and I almost dropped it because of her. She was in it way too much, and having her way.

Also... with the amount of effort she puts in for this ONE guy?! I feel like she could've won over a whole other chaebol. Thoughts anyone?

I'm really enjoying the recent developments with YD's mom getting the Grandma to learn how to read, TK catching feelings for YD and the baby growing inside her, TK and YD being friends, and finding out that the little niece is a popular Youtuber! I'm also enjoying the snobby couple with the brother and sister-in-law. I want to hate them and be like "I don't want you to raise a baby who will end up snobby like you", but their love and sincerity towards each other makes me wish their pregnancy journey well. I was surprised they had let the uncle join in their shaman session instead of telling him to get lost.

It does stress me out how terrible our OTP is at the pretend-marriage stuff. I guess they've never ever watched dramas before. At least, YD realizes that they likely don't have the finesse to keep up the lie for 3 months. And the second-hand guilt of lying to everyone! And the lack of respect for privacy with everyone getting into their stuff feels stifling.

Se-Jin tried to play the jealous-because -of-me card twice: once as they were leaving the bakery with the carrot cake and she told TK not to mention that she found the shop to YD. He replied she’ not suspicious that way. And then when she helped put drunk TK in bed, she told YD not to think anything was going on. YD said she trusted TK. 2Wen will she stop trying to get between them?

Se-Jin tried to pull the jealousy card by suggesting TK not mention that she found the carrot cake shop. But he told her YD is not suspicious like that. And then she told YD not to think anything is going on because she drank with TK. And YD said she trusted TK. As much as she tries to get between them it’s not working. .

Se-jin now knows that SD was Kim Joon-ha’s Ex, but does not yet know that Kim Joon-ha tried to stop her wedding. Yoo-myung has now met Soo-gyeom but thinks that Uncle is the girl's father- I think that we will get more of this story in episode 20. Tonight’s cliffhanger: TK has asked SD to terminate their contract immediately after staring at their photo booth pictures. Is it time for an idiotic separation based upon a misunderstanding? But the highly of the episode was the moment that SD told Se-jin that she loves TK, and he is hers. Followed by her claim to TK that it was just a white lie- are we really going to string out the confession forever? And isn’t it time for Joon-ha to re-appear? If nothing else it would complicate Se-jin’s life.

On a shallow note, it was nice to see Uncle being so cleaned up 😁 Ryu Jin used to be a leading man...

For once we did not end with a cliffhanger but rather- finally- after only 20 episodes- a confession. It was one of those wonderful moments that you can really only get in a weekender or a daily because we have come to know these characters so much better by the time it happens.

But in fact, the cliffhanger is there too- only it is an implied cliffhanger because Se-jin has figured out that Kim Joon-ha is the biological father of Yeon-doo’s baby. So that is hanging over their heads even as YD has just thoroughly scolded TK’s family for their bullying. On a lighter note Yoo-myung and Soo-gyeom’s story has started in earnest- and apparently the Big Reveal of Soo-gyeom’s daddy has been reserved for a later moment when comedy is again needed. Meanwhile our other pregnant couple is having a hard time because TK’s sister refuses to reveal something to her husband. And I lost my sympathy for TK’s older brother and his wife as they returned to their crabbed and selfish selves. It is going to take something more than a scolding to turn them around.

Confession time! 🥳💃🎊
(I'm sooo happy they didn't drag it!)

Of course Principal would end up as the new tenant 😄
And Yeondoo's Mom is right, his problem is his Pride.

Ep 20 thoughts

I just have some minor thoughts because others have covered the key events, like the wonderful final minutes of this ep!!🥳🥳🥳

Kooky theory:
Awful oldest brother, Cheon Myeong said that he has a plan for how they can have a baby after all (after being motivated by his greed for company shares🤢 - sorry I have little sympathy for him.) Do you think this will be where the sperm donation from Dae Sang (Yeon Doo’s uncle) story arc might come into play? If so, it may come back to save Tae Gyeong and Yeon Doo from the fallout of their families finding out that their baby isn’t biologically TG’s because the eldest couple will have a child that isn’t blood-related either, and both couples will have lied about it. The family can either accept or reject both.

Can someone please explain whose phone Se Jin has in her possession and why she has it? I don’t recall how she would have ended up with Joon Ha’s phone, but it seems to be his?

Also, does Yoo Myeong think Soo Gyeom is older than she is? So far, we’ve heard from other characters that she’s 7, but YM tells SG that SG is the best/her favourite 12 year old.🤷🏻‍♀️ It may have been a mistranslation!

Yeon-doo's verbal takedowns of Se-jin and TK's awful family were immensely satisfying. The protagonists were sorely in need of a "win" to restore some balance to the plot. This is only my second weekender -- after "Young Lady and Gentleman," which IMHO focused too heavily on the villains at the cost of the supposed main couple's relationship/character development. Here's hoping the writer of "Real Deal" continues to find the sweet spot that can make watching a weekender so addictively frustrating and rewarding at the same time.

Hoh.

Oh. My.

Finally caught up to the 20th episode.

I know most of the big topics have been covered here, so I'll just say some of my smaller thoughts/ maybe celebrate a little.

1) Yeon Do's niece... who the heck is keeping track of this kid?! She just went on a shopping spree with a stranger, and no one had any idea. Like her dad was just mildly annoyed she was a bit late coming home from the park. Like I understand there are different safety levels in Korea, but that seems a bit much to me lol.

2) After Yeon Do gave to call out of the season to the nasty family members, when she stormed past Se Jin, I just wanted her to casually flip her off as she walked by. That just would've been the perfect cherry on top.

3) Se Jin andt the SML have some villain couple moves to pull together, I have no doubt. Super interesting theory someone had up there about the Uncle becoming the sperm donor- Another interesting possibility is when the younger sister inevitably ends up dating the younger brother, she will become 'stepmom', and if grandma doesn't watch herself could push her away too if she's unkind to an eight year old. Which could help even the playing field on 'non bio kids' side.

4) Once Se Jin's dad's pride comes down (and honestly I think living with a wholesome family is a great cure for it), I think that will be a big part of Se Jin's final undoing.

5) Absolutely love that TK finally accepts someone is in his corner, and it's okay to take risks because they are willing to fight along side him.

6) Last but not least, Yeon Do is over 3 months pregnant now. Where is the bump?! I'm so excited for that development, especially with TK maybe being extra attentive and loving ;)

So far I’ve seen only episode 19. ENJOYED seeing grandma being taken down a peg and enjoyed even more seeing Se Jin having her butt handed to her. Yeon Do! Gurrrl I’m a big fan now. Also love the friendship growing between Soo Gyeong and Yoo Myeong. Finally, this drama is hitting the right spots for me.

Yes, @jackem, I was also looking for Yeon-do's bump. With everybody knowing she's pregnant, it would have been nice to see her wearing more comfortable loose clothes and shoes. With both TK and YD admitting they like each other, I hope the show goes into lovey-dovey mode for them. With YD's room in their house rented out, she won't have a place to go to if she separates from TK.