RamenKingAndI

I think for the most part the JS and SA chapter is closed. We're for sure not going to see her pining for him, and I think he's accepted that he's dug his grave and isn't going to bother her any more. His fiancee hasn't found out he'd had an affair, though, and when she does--and she will because this is a K-drama-- she has the potential to cause some external conflicts for the leading couple if she's feeling vindictive. Also, the fact that ML's sister is dating the fiancee's brother might not sit too well with the FL . There's definitely trouble ahead, but I'm optimistic we will have a happy ending.

I know exactly which scene you're talking about, and the fact that the "What?!" song/sound effect wasn't used in that scene was a travesty. haha

If you exclude obvious camera zoom and music cues given to us by the director and the fact that this is advertised as a romance, she has been exhibiting deviations from her previous behavior and an escalation in intimacy (emotional and physical) with him since her breakup that are indicative to a change in her feelings. If you go back and watch the first episode, for example, she was friendly but still so professional that she wouldn’t accept lipstick from him that he purchased while they were out doing market research together. I’m not saying she’s full blown in love with him, but she’s definitely seeing him as a man now.

Additionally, up until this point, she has been very good at maintaining boundaries and been extremely cautious about not wanting to lead him on. You say that she should be considerate of his feelings, and she HAS, more so than he would have liked, in fact. Keeping that in mind, it is not consistent with her character to suddenly do an ethical 180 simply because she misses his attention. She's too grounded and independent for that. No, it would take her actually having feelings, albeit still small and new, for her to go back on her own words and admit to him that she doesn’t want him to maintain the distance. Worst case scenario, she misses him as a friend, but even then I don't think she would make that request of him unless she thought she could potentially give him want he wanted (a romantic relationship).

I don’t consider it wrong for her to ask this of him because people/characters are allowed to have selfish desires. Being selfish isn’t inherently bad, and I think there is sufficient evidence at this point to show that the FL isn’t someone who would casually admit that she misses the ML and then decide the next day that she didn’t mean it. She’s far more likely to be the kind to admit she misses him, has being seeing him in a different light, and would like to take things slow if he’s willing.

Going forward, I suspect we see a slow burn romance. Any major conflicts these two may have will likely be in from the FL’s ex and/or mother.

“She clearly isn't over her ex and it is a possibility that her feelings for the ML is nothing more than a want for attention and consideration”

I think it is safe to say that at this point she knows she has some budding romantic feelings for the ML but is likely second guessing the timing and her own readiness to acknowledge and pursue those feelings (rightfully so). Up until very recently she only had eyes for her ex, so she never allowed herself to view the ML as anything more than a junior coworker, but now that she has the freedom to view the ML’s actions from the perspective of a woman rather than as his co-worker, she has started to respond to his attention differently: opening up about her personal life, allowing him to rest his head on her shoulder and break other physical boundaries, attending a gathering with his college juniors and becoming more involved in his personal life, etc. Just when she was starting to see him differently, he decided it was time to pull back. While her confession has all the outward appearances of her being a woman who just misses the male attention, based on what we’ve seen, I think it’s pretty clear that his absence made what she was already beginning to realize more apparent: That she was starting to see him as a man, and that she liked what she saw.

"It doesn't matter why he chose to move on, not at all from her perspective. Him moving on was the right thing to do here and she knows that."

She also knows that he made that decision without knowing that her feelings for him were changing. Him moving on may have been the “right thing” for him when he thought he was a burden with zero chance of dating her, but now that he knows he’s not a burden and maybe that there’s a good chance she is seeing him differently, he may decide that what’s “right” for him is to wait for her. Painting him as some sort of victim who's about to get his heart broken fails to acknowledge that he has autonomy and can take this risk if he is willing. If he was foolishly prepared to wait for the FL to get over her breakup prior to his ex pointing out that his unrequited love was selfish and burdensome on the FL, I see no difference in him choosing to wait again now that she has actually given him reason to believe her feelings for him are changing. The FL may have admitted to having a selfish desire to remain close to him while she figures her shit out, but it is up to the ML to decide what is and is not fair to him.

Oh yeah, I worry for him, too. In the real world, this would have short-lived rebound relationship written all over it. But, this being Drama Land and them having an established comradery prior to the start of the drama gives me hope that the characters will continue to navigate this situation in a way that leads to a happy ending.

Yeah, if the two men were secretly having an affair, I find it odd that the husband would be okay with his wife hanging out with the chef.

What she did at the end of the episode was selfish, but she also acknowledged it was selfish and has given him the opportunity to say no. Don't forget, too, that while part of the reason he chose to step back was for his own sake of moving on, he also did it largely in part for her because he thought his unrequited love was a burden on her, just as his ex coming to him and trying to force her way back into his life was a burden for him. So now that FL has told him that his crush on her is not an annoyance and is actually welcome, the only feelings that need protecting are his own. The ball is in his court, and he can choose to either continue his retreat or go back to pursuing her in hopes that what she is feeling is romantic and not a need for an emotional Band-Aid.

While I agree that it isn't healthy for them to be considering a relationship so soon after her nasty break-up, I wouldn't classify her actions/words as "wrong" because she's been honest with him about what she's feeling and hasn't lied about or exaggerated her feelings in an attempt to keep him by her side. He knows taking a step towards her is a huge risk, but he's an adult who can take that risk if he wants. Their ability to be honest and communicate with one another is a huge part in why I'm accepting of their actions at this point in spite of LF's recent breakup.

PREACH! This is what I've been saying in the comments, too. Lot's of people on here unintentionally telling the rest of us that they have no real-world dating experience.

I'm starting to think there are a lot people without any real-world relationship experience chiming in...

How quickly do you expect her to get over her ex? It's only been a few weeks since her two-year relationship ended in a raging dumpster fire. Even pissed off and feeling betrayed that shit takes time to get over. She's currently in rebound territory, and she likes and respects ML too much to jump into something with him without being more confident that what she's feeling is for him and not her wanting attention because she's still on the post-breakup emotional roller coaster. She's finally starting to realize that she may have real feelings for him, but again, she's being cautious for both their sakes.

I will say, having gone through a similar situation, being pissed off at your cheating ex does make the scars heal a lot faster. lol

It's a very weird dynamic, but it definitely makes me curious to see how it turns out. I just hope the wife doesn't get too hurt in the process.

Exactly! She's being very mature by taking things slow with the ML. Breakups, especially ones like her, incite all kinds of emotions, and it's not good to start a relationship with someone new, especially someone you care about, when you cannot be confident if your feelings for that new person are genuine or if you're just redirecting what you felt for your ex towards the new person. Rebound relationships are typically short lived because the person wakes up one day and realizes that they don't really like the new person; they were just swept up and on an emotional rollercoaster.

So, initially I thought the two men were in a relationship, but now I'm wondering if maybe only one of them is gay with a crush and the other just knows about it. Or maybe they used to date (how they met), but now they don't. Reason being, the husband didn't seem at all flustered that his wife was hanging out with the chef, and if he was in a relationship with the chef, I feel like he would be uncomfortable with them spending a lot of time together for fear she might figure out that they are having an affair.

I think I'm leaning that way, too. lol

So many of these comments are like, "OMG! I canNOT believe she won't date him after having just broken up with her ex!"

Clearly, some of you have no idea what a "rebound guy" is and why it's better for one to be some strange you pick up at a bar or on Tinder rather than a man you genuinely like and respect.

She did ditch her ex, but she can't completely avoid him because they still work together. She's keeping a professional, working distance.

As for the ML, she doesn't want him to be a rebound guy. She likes and respects him, and she knows that if she uses him as an emotional Band-Aid while she's still feeling a sad/betrayed/hurt/pissed off over her ex, a relationship with the ML so soon after her breakup will likely end in disaster.

I'm intrigued by Hyo Joo after episode 8. I thought she was going to be your stereotypical jealous rich bitch who likes to emotionally blackmail people to get her way, but she is more calculating than I originally thought. I'm torn between thinking she's too good for Jae Shin and rooting for her to tie Jae Shin down and make him miserable.

Ah, no worries. It's all in the past, but it does make me a biased towards thinking he was in the right for exposing her ex's two-timing ways. I'm sure there are people out there that would prefer to live in ignorance, but I choose to believe that Hyun Seung knew enough about Song Ah to realize she wasn't one of them.

Hmmm...Yeah, I forgot about him touching her lips. That would be crossing a boundary for me, too. But the others don't bother me much (I'm in the USA, for reference.) The club isn't an issue for me because I think it would be perfectly normal to follow a friend/coworker into a club if you randomly saw them on the street and you wanted to check in on them or say hello.

As for him interfering with her personal relationship, maybe it's because I've been cheated on before (and had supposed friends/acquaintances know what was going on and not tell me) that has me siding with him on this one. I would have preferred that those people had told me the truth. As for the possibility of, "What if Song Ah knew about his future marriage," I think we can safely assume that he knew that wasn't the case, especially after he overheard Jae Shin lie to her that he was going to be busy with work when he was really going with his fiancée to a dress fitting. If Song Ah was aware that she was the side-piece, then her ex would not have needed to lie to her.