DramaLifeForever

U can just wait until it finished airing and then binge.

@xuehua I know it is tough but I earnestly wish everything will be okay for you. It is alright to feel what u feel and I am proud of u to be pushing through.

I have experienced something very similar in my past as well. So yes, I absolutely relate with FL and her actions because mine too were similar to hers. The situation is so similar as if someone documented my life lol.

I think everyone would love to read this translation. Thank you so much kind human <3

Yes, there was scene shown of him visiting her with gifts from her family and lots of manga from him, after which she hugged him in her drunken state and what seemed like, was going for a kiss but then just collapsed in his arms.

1. Not the ex but co-worker

2. Chris switched between Korean English and US English depending on who he was speaking to, which is natural for bilinguals. I think the actor did a great job at convincing me that he has been living in the US since 8.

Actually, he had feelings from Day -1. That is what his letter from 10 years ago told us. I mean, it was very visible and obvious because this is drama land.

No offense, but this sounds like something Chris would say :)

To me it was realistically portrayed. I have worked overseas with way worse English speakers and accents. She was fluent and sounded alright to me. Not the best but understandable.

I think what the western viewers fail to understand is that despite there being laws for it, the victim still does not report workplace or other forms of harassment easily. Especially if the harasser is from same country as victim and/or if the victim is Asian . Then, the chances of it being reported are far lesser.
Not because they will not be acted on but because the victim are unaware of their rights. Or that they know their life can be messed. Or that they just do not have the courage to report it as they might feel guilt and or embarrassment. Many such reasons. It is probably a societal thing, which is sad but very true.
While the head pat was wrong, it seemed that they had worked together for a long time making them familiar to each other than FL despite being awkward, just let it go. And yes, that can happen too, with someone familiar/comfortable. So no, it is not fiction at all!

If they, do I have another reason to go to Korea sooner. Lol, like I needed one

Because Apple forgot to pay them "ad placement"

Yeah it feels like a more adult-ish version with different twists but similar in flavour to me as well but not in a bad way at all. I love the WFKBJ and hope this gives me the same fluffy satisfaction. :)

I totally understand your perspective, but I see things a bit differently. I hope you’ll take a moment to read my thoughts fully. Just to be safe, I’m marking this as a spoiler.

The FL didn’t want to share the full story with her best friends because she felt ashamed. As shown in episodes 3 and 4, she even blamed herself for the workplace harassment (which the ML corrected and said it was not victim's/her fault at all). This is a topic that's rarely discussed, especially in Eastern and South-eastern Asian countries like where I’m from. Subtle racism and sexism are often brushed off and not even depicted much in dramas, cinemas and writing in general. The FL felt foolish for not recognizing what was happening to her sooner. It was like a slap in the face for her, especially since she was trying so hard to be a supportive team member taking on other's work. She was painfully naïve to think that this selfless act was for the good of the company.

Think about it—living alone in a foreign country without friends or family, she poured her everything into her job. Then, to find out her colleagues were mocking her behind her back thanks to the person you trusted fully (Chris) giving them pointes on how to manipulate her, sharing her deep secret of why she took an year long break in her career, which she was not at all comfortable sharing with anyone. And to top it off, her fiancé was cheating on her—she had no one to lean on. This betrayal and isolation were huge blows. She always knew this job wasn’t her dream, but the shock made her realize she couldn’t stay there anymore. In my opinion, she was experiencing burnout because of the mistreatment and had a strong desire to go back and figure out where things went wrong. You see, one can work in a job that isn't their dream (e.g. ML) as long as they have their self-respect and self-esteem intact. She lost them both in the process. She lost herself. Remember when she lied to her family that she cheated on fiancé. That's because she did not have the capacity to deal with it then. She knew if she told them, then they might still want her to go back to US (her "sad" place). With everything collapsing around her, she craved the familiarity of home, which is why she resigned and returned.

From what I’ve seen, people from Asian backgrounds don’t usually leave a job just because of a mid-life crisis or something like that. That’s a pretty foreign concept to us. Generally, quitting a job without a "solid" reason (aka joining a new company at better pay) is frowned upon in our societies. Even when we have rebellious phases or burnout, we often try to push through, showing resilience and all that, otherwise you will be nagged at everyday everywhere by everyone (even neighbours). The idea of facing a challenge and overcoming it is deeply ingrained in us. Parents and teachers often brag about their children’s positions in prestigious companies/universities, and keeping any personal struggles or adversities hidden is the norm here.

Several people develop depression thanks to the non-acceptance in their family and being unable to manage the expectations. Some wanted to go back home at some point but their parents did not let them saying "it is a phase", "all shall pass, just perceiver", "you are just being a lazy bum", "what will I tell everyone", "just face it like everyone does", "everyone knows u live there, now u can't come back because my pride doesn't allow it", "it is for your own good", "life is challenging for everyone", "do u know how much I spend on your studies", "I raised u for so many years" and the list goes on. With language barrier added to the mix, it gets harder than one can ever imagine. It is difficult to understand context in several everyday conversations as every country has their own "inside jokes", "memes", common interests etc. E.g. your colleagues talk about going rock climbing on weekend but you are afraid of heights so the conversation awkwardly dies out.

This kind of pressure can significantly impact one’s self-esteem, leading to trust issues and difficulty handling everyday tasks. It’s common for someone in this situation to want to avoid their career path entirely or start over in a new place, hoping to never face such harsh experiences again.

I think you might be looking at this from a one-dimensional point of view, but there were multiple factors contributing to her burnout mentioned in ep 1 and 2. She wasn’t just trying to meet her family’s expectations but also her own desire to be “number one.” Trying to be the best in everything often leads to a breakdown. I’ve learned this the hard way after going through something similar myself. I also left a job overseas and returned to my home country because I couldn’t handle it anymore. I didn’t even realize it was workplace harassment, racism and sexism until people around me bugged me to talk about it. They had to connect the dots for me, that is how broken I was. I ended up changing career paths for a while, cuz that wasn't my dream as well, just a well paying fancy job. I had learnt to let go of some of my own and my family’s expectations after a couple of big turning points in my life.

My point is, this portrayal feels very authentic (to me). People often get depressed and feel too embarrassed to open up about their struggles, especially in Asia. And it’s also possible that, like many young people, she didn’t really know what she wanted to do in high school and just followed what her friends or family suggested. This combination of personal confusion, external pressures, and traumatic experiences can push someone to the edge.

But anyway, I do understand where you’re coming from. I guess to fully grasp what the FL is going through, you might need to have experienced something similar or I am projecting my emotions. Either way, I really hope nobody ever has to go through that kind of trauma because it is life altering.


On another note,
As another viewer mentioned below somewhere in comments, I too believe that they will draw parallels between ML's mom and FL who both seem to have faced harassment of some form at some point in their lives. While FL could return back to start over, ML's mom chose not to. I am looking forward to how the develop this comparison as they have already laid the foundation for it where ML's mom got touched by minister in a way that made her either uncomfortable or made her remember something uncomfortable from past. She seemed upset when she met FL's mom but as they talked, she eased up. This suggested that there was/is some workplace harassment in play in her story as well, which might explain why she does not like to stay in Korea for long. Very subtle hints were present as seen in her top notch acting. The slight shift in demeaner was precise and not over the top.

I think I am going to love seeing everyone's stories in the drama. Very fleshed out and complex characters (as of ep 4).

This type of ML is my forever fav, the mafia kind. One of the closest and best ones to this genre with romance are -
1. Lawless Lawyer
2. Kinnporsche (if u r into BL)
3. K2
4. Hello Monster
5. Wok of love

Been watching his scenes at 2X. He is just cardboard-plain.

"Your mom kissed me and I asked her to take responsibility. She is the true thug lol". That is what I imagined when I saw that scene too haha, too cute

I think because this is a sweet straightforward fluff, everyone hopes that there won't be a love triangle as it makes it annoying (at least true for me). While I don't have SML, he is filmed in such a way that it seems like something is off with him. He comes off as a very stiff character with little possibility for growth as of now. Hope this would change. I think the way it was filmed makes me dislike the character even though I can understand where he is coming from.
I totally dislike 3rd FL too, but I think they might put more to the story and show some growth. She is not a completely bad person, just someone who wants to payback her debt and the person she is indebted to happens to be the one she likes too aka ML. I think SML and 3rd FL have similar characters and role in creating tension for our MCs which is kind of annoying haha as I would love this drama without angst, just all diabetes worthy sugar 😁🍫🍬🍰🍭🍩🍧🍮🍦

Why always truck-kun!?

Go girl! I completely get it. I tend to do it as well when I am too moved by something. Like an overflowing vessel. I completely understand your POV. I actually liked how u put it through!

I wish I could pin your comment or something 🤣🤣🤣