No, I think he thought she would wait and would always chase him. That's why he pointed out that his number's still the same. He did want her to feel guilty because he realised she had moved on - his ego got smashed and he regretted not making a move earlier.
I totally get where you’re coming from, and I actually agree that he’s a very realistic character shaped by…
It's not just bout whether he should reject her at all or be direct. That takes a back-seat to how he actually treats her as a person. The way he talks to her is condescending, rude and patronising. From what I've seen so far, they hardly know each other yet he felt it acceptable to talk to her the way he does.
Speaking of her husband i really wanted to comment how people were calling him evil for drugging her and trying…
That take completely misses the point—and then you congratulate yourself for doing so!
The problem here isn’t that Ah Jin has the audacity to be annoyed. It’s that some viewers can’t tolerate a woman whose made mistakes, but still be upset, angry and messy at the same time. They expdct her to be calm and accept what she's dealt just 'cos she's guilty.
The series isn’t asking you to side with her. It’s asking whether you can recognise that being guilty doesn’t require becoming silent, grateful, or be emotionally accepting on cue.
In trying to make sense why this script was even agreed to by any of the adult actors - I wondered, was it secretly a launchpad for the son actor’s debut? If it is his debut lol Because honestly… it felt like the adult cast was just background props. Even his friends displayed maturity beyond their years.
The son got the meaty dialogue, the mature monologues, the moral compass moments, the revelations, probably more screen time than both leads combined — at one point I thought he was about to start counselling the adults.
Meanwhile, the adults — you know, the actual romantic leads — were benched mainly to stand there looking concerned while the kid unpacked the entire plot.
Kudos to the boy actor. He delivered. He showed up, he acted, he nasically said, "if you won’t take the spotlight, I WILL take it!"
Gonna now look for a drama with a revenge arc against the mother so I can feel some relief!!!
It was just not pleasant to watch this series, Kim Yoo Jung is one of my favorite actresses and such a disappointment,…
Honestly, I don’t think the show was ever trying to hand us a clean “moral.” That’s why the ending feels unsettling for some people. The author isn’t preaching a message — she’s showing how messy people get when they’re carrying years of unprocessed trauma.
If there is a takeaway, it’s this - Trauma doesn’t excuse what they did, but ignoring it traps everyone in the same cycle of hurt. The characters keep mistaking guilt for love, desperation for devotion, and silence for safety — and that’s why everything spirals.
So the point isn’t “who was right” or “what’s the lesson,” it’s that when people refuse to face their wounds, even their love becomes something that damages instead of heals.
That’s the uncomfortable reality the show leaves you with.
There is no character development in this drama. None at all. You can have manipulative, abusive, sociopaths,…
Saying there's no 'character development’ assumes development only counts when characters become better people. But this story is a psychological tragedy, and its development is internal, not redemptive. Ah Jin and Junseo both change through increasing self-awareness—she gains clarity about the cycles trapping her, and he confronts the truth of his guilt, obsession, and the damage he’s causing. They don’t become better, but they do become more aware, and in a narrative built on trauma, that shift in insight is the character development.
The author’s interpretation of the ending:"The ending of the drama was different from the original, but…
Ah Jin never wondered how she would live after they died — my interpretation is, that’s the author projecting, not the story. On screen, Ah Jin isn’t panicking about their absence; she isn’t even shown thinking that way. The ending doesn’t signal dread or “hell” for her.
If anything, her silence reads as emotional decompression — the first moment where she isn’t reacting to someone else’s demands, threats, or chaos. She’s not terrified of life without them; she’s simply experiencing a rare, unfamiliar stillness.
So the idea that she’s doomed because they’re gone misses the point. The finale isn’t a punishment for her; it’s a reset. The weight has lifted. Whatever comes next is finally hers to decide.
Funny that audiences bring their western thinking into C-dramas
I’m not sure what you're referring to, but when it comes to the mother-in-law, we need to draw a clear line: filial piety is one thing, but outright illegal behaviour is another.
A frustrating watch... in 12 years neither of them has grown at all!
Feng Rui still can't stand up to his family and can't hold his mother accountable for any wrongdoing.
Si Ting still can't stand up for herself, even after finding out her son is alive - she still avoids conflict and endures whatever her mil dishes out.
And the worst part? They still can’t communicate properly, especially about something as huge as their son. Honestly, it serves them right if Le finds out from someone else!
Junseo and Jaeoh are also victims. She manipulated them to do her bidding, then tossed them aside when she didn't…
That’s not true — both Junseo and Jaeoh actively engaged with Ah Jin; they approached her and chose to enter her world. Ah Jin didn’t hurt them for fun — she acted to survive, and their own choices put them in her path. That doesn’t make them victims.
The problem here isn’t that Ah Jin has the audacity to be annoyed. It’s that some viewers can’t tolerate a woman whose made mistakes, but still be upset, angry and messy at the same time. They expdct her to be calm and accept what she's dealt just 'cos she's guilty.
The series isn’t asking you to side with her. It’s asking whether you can recognise that being guilty doesn’t require becoming silent, grateful, or be emotionally accepting on cue.
The son got the meaty dialogue, the mature monologues, the moral compass moments, the revelations, probably more screen time than both leads combined — at one point I thought he was about to start counselling the adults.
Meanwhile, the adults — you know, the actual romantic leads — were benched mainly to stand there looking concerned while the kid unpacked the entire plot.
Kudos to the boy actor. He delivered. He showed up, he acted, he nasically said, "if you won’t take the spotlight, I WILL take it!"
Gonna now look for a drama with a revenge arc against the mother so I can feel some relief!!!
If there is a takeaway, it’s this -
Trauma doesn’t excuse what they did, but ignoring it traps everyone in the same cycle of hurt. The characters keep mistaking guilt for love, desperation for devotion, and silence for safety — and that’s why everything spirals.
So the point isn’t “who was right” or “what’s the lesson,” it’s that when people refuse to face their wounds, even their love becomes something that damages instead of heals.
That’s the uncomfortable reality the show leaves you with.
If anything, her silence reads as emotional decompression — the first moment where she isn’t reacting to someone else’s demands, threats, or chaos. She’s not terrified of life without them; she’s simply experiencing a rare, unfamiliar stillness.
So the idea that she’s doomed because they’re gone misses the point. The finale isn’t a punishment for her; it’s a reset. The weight has lifted. Whatever comes next is finally hers to decide.
Feng Rui still can't stand up to his family and can't hold his mother accountable for any wrongdoing.
Si Ting still can't stand up for herself, even after finding out her son is alive - she still avoids conflict and endures whatever her mil dishes out.
And the worst part? They still can’t communicate properly, especially about something as huge as their son. Honestly, it serves them right if Le finds out from someone else!
Ah Jin didn’t hurt them for fun — she acted to survive, and their own choices put them in her path. That doesn’t make them victims.