2busywatching

on episode 2, and you know who I don't trust, the childhood friend. why you ask? Look at that damn HAIRSTYLE, it reminded me of the Babel group CEO from Vincenzo

This is my very first time watching this drama and I'm at the end of episode 18 where Jung hwan confesses, it so heartbreaking especially what he did after. But what caught my attention was how Deok Seon reacted while he was confessing. She looked a bit uncomfortable as if she want him to stop cause she doesn't want to give an answer and that looked like a no. After he said why he confessed she got a bit relief but at the same time bit worried as if what she will do if it true. But that doesn't stopped there everytime the door swings open Deok Seon kept looking at the door hoping it's Teak entering and Jung Hwan also noticed this.

Love how subtly it was communicated to audience how Deok Seon has moved on from her crush on Jang Hwan

Edit: watch that scene again it also felt Deok Seon was grateful and felt a bit reminiscent of the past feeling she had for him and I do think that she believes his confession was really that why she felt uncomfortable to give an answer

exactly

Has the same vibe as brewing love [I think it might have the same vibe as many other K-dramas, so I'm not going to pull up a comparison]
So far, I like the character setup, also the big twist is very obvious, feels like the cosmetic product that created a big controversy with the FL's career, pretty much the reason ML is in the countryside. Most likely, he produced the raw material for the product, as the synopsis mentions he is a researcher. This could also explain why he is hesitant to extend his contract, as they are considering a production bump, and, as he said, producing them in larger quantities will affect the antioxidant value (maybe something similar happened with the said cream that caused severe allergic reactions among consumers).

But then the little kid, who obviously seems affected because of that product, her sister is speaking to ML, which suggests that she might not be aware of the situation, or it could be the reason he goes by the name Matthew Lee instead of Lee Hae Seok.

But these are all predictions, and I still want to continue watching. So let's see.

first Sijosae (Archaeopteryx) now Mechoori 🤣

Love her chemistry with Seo Kang Jun (Seo Eun ho) I’m more interested in that story.

Edit: the upgrade on basic plan to text and all scared the sh*t out of me

Yes, that’s why I love this person’s perspective. Her philosophy of promising someone salvation or giving in to their desires, then denying it, fits so well here.

You know what? When you said the common factor in them, it reminded me of her philosophy that she believes the true punishment is promising someone salvation and denying it at the end. This is the same way she followed with Mu-gyeong. As a promised salvation, she appeared in the police station on her own will. The first time she got out was represented the same. Then when she was arrested for suspected murder, she didn't deny it but offered her hand willingly, complaining about being arrested. Then the promise of salvation again began, and then by the end, she denied that promise by become Kim Mi Jeong that admitting her identity as Sarah.

I thought my first para was clear enough for people to understand that who this comment is for, but I can add a spoiler tag

I was just going through some comments and saw people asking, “Why did she give up her brand? She worked so hard and didn’t even get to enjoy it.” I understand that question, so this is for anyone wondering the same.

From the start, she says, “Many people create brands, but how many create true luxury?”
That line shows her mindset. When we ask why she didn’t enjoy what she created, we’re thinking about money, cushioned life, and never being poor again. But wealth was never her real goal. Becoming a legacy was. Creating true luxury means setting the narrative.

This is reinforced when she changes her identity to Kim Mi Jeong to protect the brand. It shows she always saw the brand as bigger than herself. If she went down as Sarah, the brand would be exposed as a scam, and everything she built would collapse. But by becoming Mi Jeong, she protects the name of Sarah and preserves the brand. And she chooses that without hesitation.

If the brand survives the scandal [which it did] and continues to be seen as rare and untouchable, then she succeeded. The brand remains desirable, and Sarah Kim becomes a legend. The narrative she sets is that Sarah was murdered by a crazed impersonator. That keeps the brand and her vision separate from the crime. Often, founders who die at their peak become larger-than-life stories.

Also, the people she conned would never publicly speak against her. Admitting the truth would mean admitting they were fooled. It’s easier for them to let her stay “dead.”

You can also see this contrast between her and her obsessive impersonator. Kim Mi Jeong was obsessed with Sarah’s lifestyle and the wealth it brought. Her desire[goal] was comfort and money.
For Sarah, money/wealth was a tool that gave access to her goal of becoming a legend, a legacy that stays alive for generations to come. [Maybe that is why she chose the Lady Dior name to create her own name, because she wanted to build the legacy/luxury it had.]

Thank you for your kind words <3

He is also in new Zhang Miao yi's drama as support role

I'm Ke chun, ke chun. Now, I don't know, I'm more excited about Zhang Miaoyi, Bi Wenjun, or Ke Chun finally having a horizontal drama.

In that last moment, it shows how she views her brand as superior to her own identity. You are thinking she values wealth over legacy, but she does not. She also said many people create brands, but how many create true luxury? Luxury is not a product. It is narrative.
If the brand survives scandal [which it did] and continues to be spoken about as rare and untouchable, then she succeeded. So the brand remains desirable, and her name becomes a legend. As she is Sarah Kim, murdered by a crazy impersonator [narrative set by her].
The brand and her idea are always free of her crimes, and it often happens that if the founders who die at their peak often become larger than life story to tell.

God this was so easy to say and here I wrote an entire thesis, hahaha

First, they learned later that she donated a kidney. Then, after learning that the detective said to be Sarah is alive, the public notice was supposed to go out, but she showed up during/before that. She gave her DNA, knowing that will proved nothing, and then when they could not prove that the person with 2 kidneys was not Sarah, because the tissue sample was missing.

Also, both Sarah Kim and Kim Mi Jeong are people with no background data about them. If Mok Ga Hee were Sarah Kim, she would have been dead 5 years ago [but they said that Mok GaHee is also one of her aliases], so we have no documentation of her. Similarly, Mi Jeong ran away from her home at a young age, and they also have no documentation of her, because they checked for her identity and couldn't find anything about the dead person, i.e., why the dead body remained Jane Doe for so long.

Edit:
I looked up the law, so I know that an autopsy requires family approval or a prosecutor’s request, but for a few days, the identification of the body was done as Sarah Kim, but still, why? Here is what it said: [I'm copy-pasting this]

"If the body was already processed and identified under an assumed identity, and there wasn’t an immediate strong suspicion, they may not have had automatic grounds to reopen and re-examine it right away. Police need procedural justification."

That is the point, time after time they were unable to prove her identity, because they have no documented evidence, that's why they were unable to process her [the Sarah Kim sitting in lock up] and get the arrest warrant issued from the court.

Also, the fact that the entire kidney donation was secret, they only came to know after meeting the said husband [who is a loan shark], do you think he would have documented this suspicious organ donation? And let's say even if he did, the police again needed the documented evidence, transplant records, verified medical documentation [not just forensic findings that deducted the dead person is not not sarah kim cause she had both kidney the verified medical documentation is solid proof of that deduction], and then accessing transplant records involves privacy laws and court approval.

And [again copy pasting here] "Organ transplant databases in South Korea are tightly regulated. A judge would require a clear explanation of why those records are directly material to the criminal case."

And they have none cause they have no way of proving her identity. Also, the arrest was an emergency arrest, which put them on a tight clock to get the warrant approved as soon as possible.

I think a Korean person has a better understanding of this or can give a better reasoning than I can. But to me - His character is of a classic rookie from a rich family who was interested in working under him, and he did. He went ahead with what he found suspicious because he wanted to prove that he could be helpful. But in all honesty, his dad is an assemblyman and pretty much proud of him as it seems. He is in the national police force just for exposure because honestly, he has a much higher social hierarchy than the detective/chief there

I don't think she had eyes inside the station but when NOX was under investigation she figured her brand will be under fire too because the investment money was not the ceo money but company's investment fund, that why she got so angry when she learnt that the 15 million won was not her [Nox's CEO] So she showed up cause all the stuff that prove anything about her was not punishable by law and what was punishable the police have no solid evidence. So she was blatantly confident. The money she got was from her loan shark husband the pine tree was inside the store she didn't sell it, I have no idea how that pine tree is alive but the initial 500 million won she had was cause of her husband cause after that we see her going shopping continuously as suggested to built her class or to build what we want other to know her by.

The detective lacked originality agree with you to the fullest. I guess it was there cause for the rest, they have no solid proof, no record or identity or background info on her or the dead body, so they were trying to pin anything on her, but yes it was questionable cause I guess the marketing and branding stuff is like now became just a commom knowledge that it makes the detective so incompetent with her questioning

That’s what we know after the hospital visit. Her initial plan to approach Ji Hwon was to make him sufficiently agitated that he could kill the person who was hurting her, and as a martyr, she would save her husband. By doing so, she would have injured the organ, but the plan failed when the attack was not serious, but she did win over his trust, not only by taking the knife on his behalf but also by mumbling, “Is your kidney safe?" because he said to the detective that even after walking up, she was worried about me, making him emotionally invest in her.
Right after that, they talked out his funeral arrangements and the fact that she would receive everything after his death. After that, when he was weak and in the hospital, all she had to do was run away, [as she was going to give him her kidney, which was the only reason their marriage was not a known fact to other so if she ran away, none of his men would go after her]
But when she came out of the hospital room, the old area boss who loaned the money saw her and recognized her, and told the real truth to the boss. So when she was running, as they said, the time I learned she must be already packing to leave, she was caught.

By the 7th episode, we learn Kim Mi Jeong’s obsession with Sarah Kim and her lifestyle.
It would have been made up, or a lie, but then the department store CEO confirms the narrative that there was this crazy person who was going on as Sarah Kim, causing a ruckus. But Sarah didn't report her. Why? If she did, all her lies would have unravelled as well. So she endured it. Then Mi Jeong learned that what she created was going for millions of won in the market, and she got greedy. When Sarah said she was pathetic, she[Mi Jeong] decided to properly blackmail her, and this is the reason Sarah lost it when she saw her wearing the same fit and everything else being a complete copy of an identity she created. They fought, and Mi Jeong ended up passing away[not in terms of dying] because of head trauma. She decided to kill her to keep her identity as Sarah safe. Because, like her, there is no info on Kim Mi Jeong that why the dead body was Jane Doe for so long.

Also, she disfigured her and went MIA. That's her pattern whenever she hits low in her life, she kills the identity she was wearing, then comes back and spend big amount of money.
She came back as Sarah because of her brand their was going to be an investigation into it being a scam, and she was sure that they[police] had no proof to prove what they were claiming about her not being Sarah Kim