Queen of Tears: The “Over My Dead Body” car talk.
Why doesn’t he show more compassion?
The way he is presented with the illness, as well as her family’s would-be reaction, almost violently stifles the natural flow of emotion. He is under the delusion, that her family somehow cares about her. (Which is also why he has felt alone in a “them against me” stronghold over the last three years).

– Shouldn’t your family know?
– Of course not. They should be the last ones to know.
– But I think …
– I am very close to joining the One Trillion Club. You know what Grandfather said when he gave me the department store: ”I will choose you over your father, if you make over one trillion won in sales.” And you want me to ruin that? When I’m this close?
– That’s why you won’t tell them?
– Hong Soo-cheol is the kind of type who calls my doctor to confirm if I really got the flu. Do you think my mum would be any different?
If they find out about my illness, I’ll be kicked out of the house. They’d fight over who’d get my assets. I can’t allow that. Over my dead body.
[The weight of those words slowly dawn on her and her expression changes from triumph to dread.]
[That whole situation – his wife’s greedy family and also her strange priorities, slowly unfolds in his mind and he feels sad, but also uneasy.]
Like, he might have wanted to comfort her, but not ”Don’t worry baby, you will get into the trillion club,” which seems to be her prime worry. Remember, all her worries were about losing assets and status – none of it was about losing her life. Only her scared look right at the end. Until then she seemed either just cold, or even triumphant.
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I just wanted to say that while we are shocked at Hyun-woo’s seeming lack of compassion, it is clear that he, too, is shocked at the lack of compassion – and how Hae-in waves it off as if it was fairly normal and to be expected.

Dear Tag people; I have made this shorter version to achieve the better gif quality. There is a middle-of-the-road gif in the comments and … you can of course go back and watch the clip on netflix.
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    Over My Dead Body, longer version
    Fewer frames, i.e. micro expressions not quite so clear.
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    You were discussing these details, too, to I am tagging you here. Tell me if you don’t like that I will try to remember.
    @panshel @MrsBuckwheat @pogo1 @mandy @Dlrgy @kate88hammond @pohonphee @heikicampbell @ladyjaye

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    We always tell people that feelings are valid and you’re never wrong for how you feel. I can’t really blame Hyun-woo for being happy, even if it’s pretty abhorrent–I had this horrifying realization that I was more upset about Hae-in than he was! But, he wanted a way out of the marriage and now he has one. He’s allowed to feel as he does. That being said, I do think there is some denial involved (even Hae-in seems in denial to some extent) and it hasn’t really sunk in yet. I don’t think it’s correct to say that he’s 100% happy and thrilled, but it’s far more complex than that (as are his feelings for his wife). I think, deep down, he does love her and his bitterness towards his life and situation, in which he feels she is complicit, has overshadowed it. One of my favorite sayings is “the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference.” He is far from indifferent towards her.

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    There’s also the situation where the night before, if I remember the scenes correctly, Hae-in warned Hyun-woo not to do “anything dramatic”. I recall she said this when he simply put his suit jacket around her shoulders. But who knows what exactly constitutes “anything dramatic” for this couple? At this moment he seems unsure as to what that would be. I wouldn’t be surprised if the running thought in his head during the car talk scene is not so much of shock or dismay, but more like, “what do I say?! what do I say?? don’t say the wrong thing! what do I do??”

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