KevinToronto

I would like to know how she managed to score an apartment in the building so fast.

I am sure that there were many instances of the guilt card being played. I wonder how many times Soo Ji heard "Be grateful that we took you in after your mother abandoned you."? Then, she became successful and was promoted to "Family debit card".

Are you referring to Hyun Sung's conversation with his mother? Most of it was just him playing the ultra victim -- "she has left without a trace, so I will never get another chance" 😭

However, I got the sense of another story arc; namely, him blaming his parent's (lack of) relationship for all his problems. Perhaps it will help him "bond" with Na Young who has had an awfully tough life thanks to Soo Ji.

I think Na Young will see this as taking something from Soo Ji, such is her inferiority complex.

I am afraid Na Young gets worse.

Seon Young is not Woo Ri's biological mother, and therefore he is not blood related to Soo Ji. However, there is some consensus that he is the son of Ma Ri (Hyun Sung's mother).

I am not certain the decision to "root" for Soo Ji is a binary choice. Why not choose both reasons?

I agree with @SlothfulDaze; yes, she has made some highly questionable decisions, but given what we know of her life to date, it is clear there are some serious psychological scars that will need to be healed (by Woo Ri?). She is highly successful professionally, but at home she is the family bank, and is an object of hate for Na Young. She clearly remembers her mother and we can safely assume that over the years, she has been subjected to taunts of "Your mother abandoned you" or similar, either from her step-mother or step-sister; probably both.

For me, the writer's decision to make her a psychiatrist was a deliberate choice to imply that someone skilled in helping others might not be able to do the same for themselves.

Just when I thought we had seen the depths of his self-centred, thoroughly unpleasant personality, Hyun Sung goes lower. He will soon hit the centre of the earth at this rate. I do not know how accurate the translation is, but when he told his parents "I decided it'd be better to take action first than to convince Soo Ji", icy cold shivers went down my spine. First, you should not have to convince someone to get engaged and marry you. Second, to act without her knowledge, let alone her agreement, is light years beyond conceit, arrogance, and narcissism.

I am not a psychiatrist, but I would think there is something seriously wrong with someone who says they have been together with someone for over 10 years, when they have been in two different countries (different continents?) and apparently not seen each other during that time.

I noted in the previews that she ends it but he states to Woo Ri that they will get married soon. Just a bit delusional.

Sorry, I should have said before that I like the pace of this show. I am all for some interesting story lines, but I do not need its pace to be faster.

For some people, slow is good (or gold as Eeevo wrote). The world would be a very boring place if we all liked the same things.

I do not think that the overall pace of the show will change. It may be interesting for those people who like character-driven stories . However, my sense is that this will continue as a slow moving character development programme.

I suspect that there might be two reasons: one as part of the story arc and the other as an underlying commentary on Korean society.

(1) I think that Hye Jin will get into trouble because of this action, or a future similar action. And it will be Jun Ho who helps her get through the trouble. Will that be the point when the romance starts?

(2) I suspect that there is constant friction between the Korean school system and the Academy system. Was this a way for the director and writer to indicate that the people in Academies want to help their students rather than being mere "parasites" looking to only make money?

Like you, I understand his behaviour. However, I see it as his possessiveness and disregard for Soo Ji as an individual . For example, she gets out of the hospital having had a major psychiatric breakdown (and where she said she was not ready for marriage). Then, on the second evening out, he takes her for dinner where she is greeted by both sets of parents. This type of event usually when a marriage is being finalised.

For me, Hyun Sung is a self-absorbed narcissist who believes that whatever he wants is his property. So, his attitude and actions towards Woo Ri is in keeping with this.

My only explanation is that there was some sort of spark previously (whether mutual or one-side, we do not yet know) and she wants to stop it happening again.

Apologies but last week there was an article about how the situations are treated so differently. The point being that the age gap between Macron and his wife is constantly presented as a "negative" (I make not comment on when they met and then got together), whereas there is no comment about Trump and his wife, despite the age gap being the same.

I was not making any statement about whether the Macron situation was or was not problematic. Personally, it is not appropriate, but I will not judge. My point, albeit poorly presented, is that sometimes real life is weirder that fiction.

This is the definition of libel found in the Canadian Criminal Code:
-- 298 (1) A defamatory libel is matter published, without lawful justification or excuse, that is likely to injure the reputation of any person by exposing him to hatred, contempt or ridicule, or that is designed to insult the person of or concerning whom it is published.

Note there is nothing about whether the statement is true or not. I merely pointed out that stating "she groomed him since when he was 14 or 15" could be considered libel in some countries. Can you prove that she "groomed" him?

I am not certain that many here will agree with "ML more like pity her". And while you may not like "long-term working colleagues turning into lovers, having worked on three continents and in many different workplaces, I can assure you that those situations are very common, regularly at the expense of marriages.

As for Hyun Sung, his character may be the "most realistic", but that does not make him even the slightest bit a nice or pleasant person, or remotely redeemable. He is showing no respect to or understanding of Soo Ji and her situation.

It is very clear that Soo Ji is not capable of thinking along the lines of romance, and told Hyun Sung that in the hospital room. Instead of accepting that, he just barges into her family's home and says he will marry her, even to the point of saying that "she will accept getting married to him.

I am not certain where you live, but in many countries what you wrote about Macron's wife could be considered libel.

If Seo Hye Jin had been Lee Jun Ho's actual teacher (or even an Academy teacher), your comment might be accurate that it is unrealistic. However, she seems to have been a 3rd year university undergrad who was doing some tutoring on the side to make money.

Also, the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, has been married to his former teacher for 17 years, and she is 24 years older than him. [For comparison, Donald Trump is 24 years older than Melania Trump.]

To date, Woo Ri has not "hit on" Soo Ji. He has exhibited understandable concern for a colleague who is going through a very bad period in her life. He is a psychiatrist and knows that she is being treated and taking medication. Does he realise that his feelings might be more than that? Yes, which is probably why he is transferring. But in his note he congratulated her on her upcoming marriage. Thus, showing that he knows the boundaries and is not prepared to cross them.

Almost everyone here has commented that it is the behaviour of Hyun Sung that is very problematic. He is the person whose actions and attitude will be most damaging to Soo Ji. For example (as noted by @take-to-the-sky above), Hyun Sung proposes to her in her hospital room. Instead of accepting her request to wait, he walks into her family's home and states he will marry her, even ignoring her grandmother's concerns and saying he will make her agree. Then, he tells his parent's, telling them that Soo Ji does not agree with getting married now but will soon.