I was about to drop this show, but to my biggest surprise I actually quite liked these episodes. Things are finally starting to move and change! Mom starts earning money, Grandma threatens, Aspiring Actress proudly offers private tutoring to Lawyer Oppa (I'm so glad I was wrong and that it is her making the offer), Oppa gets to know the truth about Hyoshim's modelling (ha, his switch to protective oppa mode and consequent impolite behaviour to Taeho 😁) and Taeho and Hyoshim are basically dating. 😊
Yes, Hyoshim absolutely gave Taeho the green light when she let him join the team building and Taeho was cute and winning her over with giving her his chicken from samgyetang (and stealing other food for her from the table)... and then he was so smooth with the handholding. 😊

My local KBS America channel has been showing random episodes of DOCTOR PRISONER instead of LYOL. Talk about night and day differences in script writing and acting.

Finally, Halmoni does something other than knitting and being forced to listen to Landlady's empty talks.

@unit, thanks for the highlights !
Rooftop halmoni throws down the gauntlet to Madame Jang
Ms Choi also throws down the gauntlet, challenging both Madame Jang and Tae-min.
Tae-ho’s advances are slowly making progress, which, Hyo-shim doesn’t offer too much resistance to.
Tae-min, face it, the battle and the war are lost when it comes to winning Hyo-shim’s favor. Tae-ho has you out smarted and out maneuvered.
Elder brother feels the need to stifle Hyo-shim, meanwhile previews show Ru-bi getting busted with her oppa.
Gu-On enters a singing contest
Did Hyo-do steal the watch off of the LoanShark’s wrist ?!
Hyo-shim’s mom…. Aigoo
It looks like the show is finally getting out of low gear and things start to pick up.

Ha-Joon looks so cute riding the bicycle!

There are more people speaking sense this past weekend:
1. Tae-ho telling Tae-min that they both need to give Hyo-shim space and that she's dealing with a lot of crap right now.
2. Tae-ho suggesting that Hyo-shim move out and become independent and, because she's an adult, not let her mom manage her finances
3. Landlady granny calling mom out for being selfish and not letting Hyo-shim enjoy her vacation or get married. Of course, this flies over mom's head.
4. Rich granny threatening her evil DIL.
5. Mirim telling Lawyer Oppa how crappy his study strategy was. I'm surprised he even got into university.
6. Hyo-shim telling big bro he doesn't have to worry about her being played by the cousins since she's already been through more than he could ever imagine.

Also hilarious: Mirim wearing a white dress with lace gloves and a hair accessory with a mini-veil to her ex-'s wedding, that she was getting paid to attend.

Highlights for me, we learned that:
1. Grandmother trusts Tae Min
2. Tae Ho, someone presumably schooled in the “western” concept of sexual harassment, is breaking all of the rules of one with power and authority: insisting that a woman continue to work for him even though she clearly does not wish to; trying to date someone who relies upon him for her job; pressuring someone to sign a contract so that additional $$ will be dependent upon his good will. I did not find any of it charming or adorable, but I fully admit I'm in the minority.
3. Yeom is protecting Tae Hee by staying silent about her whereabouts.
4. Villainess Mother #1 created a slush fund using the family scholarship program.

@unit said: “Soo-kyung, on her part, is done with dangling carrots, and she’s now on her stick phase with the Kang family.” I had a different impression – she’s done being humiliated by Tae Min and her parents are done as well. “All I need to do is get over you.” I hope she really is done with him (mentally, if not emotionally) because those two are getting engaged whether they like it or not and they truly belong together.

I do not like drama scenes that think it is amusing when women batter men. Mi-rim and Hyo-shim are the latest culprits. I suppose it’s a hallmark of Korean family dramas, but meanwhile many get the vapors with one kiss w/out prior consent.

I want HyoShim's mother to meet the white truck of doom. But people like her usually live a long life.

The old hag aside, this was the show's best week till now! TaeHo spelled out to TaeMin what he is doing wrong with HyoShim. We will know next week if his words got through to him. For now he has to deal with Ms. Anchorwoman who has decided to fight nasty, which is a disappointment coz I expected her to have more depth than this.

Love the way TaeHo is trying to help HyoShim without making her feel burdened. HyoShim was definitely feeling deflated when he started keeping his distance from her 😄 This trip was sooo necessary - not just for the two of them to bond, but also for TaeHo to plant the seed of independence in HyoShim's mind. And TaeHo is making full use of this opportunity! The way he is behaving like an overgrown schoolboy on the trip but also being wise and swoony at the same time 🫠 HyoShim has nerves of steel that she is still able to resist his charms!

HyoShim's oldest oppa isn't wrong in warning her about the chaebols. He has been working for them for years and knows how ruthless they are. It was good to see at least one person in her family worry about her.

Lastly, is the oily Secretary going to turn out to be TaeHee's father? Or maybe TaeMin's father as well?

I hope Ha Jun didn't have to do multiple takes of those gym workouts where Hyo Shim is out to get Tae Ho. Looks exhausting. He still looks very adorable though.

I laugh at Tae Ho's attempt to give Hyo Shim "space" and not bother her with his feelings. Those words were meant for dear Hyung. He does not have any intention of keeping Hyo Shim out of his orbit. With that said, how much longer could Hyo Shim resists Tae Ho's charms?
That walk while holding hands and sharing stories counts as a date.

Unneeded plot hole- Loan shark is attacking FL’s macknae to recover a “Benz” that he never had any real ownership of? Writer-nim, explain please.

I recovered some of my respect for Anchor Lady in episode 20. Rather than just the usually nasty but needy Chaebol Heiress move of going after the FL ‘to get her out of the way’ she took out her wrath on the man who deserved it: Tae-min, by publicly attacking his family. If you are going to be mean, be mean to the idiot who richly deserves it. Her expose regarding the death of Tae-ho’s parents has sent Tae-min’s father over the edge again with a fresh nervous breakdown. That is not just applying a stick- more like a great big quarter staff. The character of Soo-kyung is sadly unexplored in this show- I would enjoy learning more about this strong ruthless woman and why she is determined to have Tae-min, whose stature has steadily diminished with each episode to the point where she obviously needs a shaman to show up and tell her that she could do much better (and charge her $42 for the advice).

I loved Mi-rim’s response to Hyo-joon’s claim that she is not sexy- she simply points to her poster on the wall. Hyo-joon does not realize just how lucky he is to have her as a tutor. She has started properly: He needs to get his studies organized.

Biggest surprise scene of that episode: Mr. Yeom happily driving Tae-hui back from the egg farm. He was truly enjoying that moment. We have never seen him acting like that or even genuinely smiling the way he was in that scene. And perhaps we have finally started to see just a bit of our promised new direction with just one single character finally starting to live her own life. How unexpected was it that it is actually Tae-hui

As for Hyo-shim’s mom: She is infantile to the point of total depravity. It has reached the point where it sickens me to see her on the screen. Where is the White Truck of Doom when you most need it?

Secretary Yeom is totally Tae-Hui's dad.
I hope that Tae-Ho is not using Hyo-Shim to get back at Tae-Min for taking away his parents' car. I kinda don't like his smirk at the end of episode 21.
Yes Mi-Rim...twist his ears! I'm glad someone is finally putting some sense in him.
I pity Hyo-Shim's mom....she's too used to having her daughter around, that she misses her when she's not around. But she also needs to learn to let go and let her daughter live her own life.
I'm sooo glad that anchor lady decided to take it out on Tae-Min and not Hyo-Shim.
I want the white truck of doom to show up for TM's mom. I still don't understand why she's so set on ruining things for the Taesan family..first her brother-in-law, then her mother-in-law, Tae-Ho, and then Tae-Min her own son??

I loved Tae Ho’s intent in warning his brother to chill a bit with Hyo Shim and I loved how he did it. But it looked like he couldn’t actually follow through on it.
Dumpster diver grandma said it well. What do Hyo Jun and Hyo Do’s issues have to do with Hyo Shim marrying?
When Tae Ho says “I’m really gonna go” for the MT, and HS can’t stop smiling, it was such a sweet moment. She clearly likes him. The drive was pretty cute too.
Yeom mentioning he joined Taesan a year before Tae Min was born was oddly specific and might point to him fathering TM, or it may be a red herring.
That the waaaaay dramatic Sook Hyang decided to go after HS to force TM to marry makes me worry. I know TM isnt very popular right now, but I can’t help but feel sorry for him. His crush is hopeless and he is being forced to do things he doesn’t want to. He is so easily manipulated by Yeom. He seems like a decent enough person, obsession with HS notwithstanding, unlike his mother
Seriously writer anna. The truck of doom in PMR didn’t have any work. Can you run it over HS’s mother?
Hyo Jun getting his ears twisted was the happiest moment across all dramas this week for me. Lol